#A break. Anyway. That's not important. We usually cab get through to each other but he has just been fuckin.......

[icequeenbae]

Stay with Me (m) | BBH

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Long-distance relationship, established relationship, grumpy Baek, smut

Warnings: explicit content, unprotected sex, upset sex (is there such a thing), oral (f receiving), consent is not explicitly stated but implied

Word Count: ~2.6k

Summary: Baekhyun was upset because you had to leave again. His frustration made things escalate to an unexpected extent. He might’ve just wanted to make you late for the plane though.

© Please do not copy/ post on other platforms without permission.

Let’s celebrate my first ‘writing comeback’ anniversary together ❤❤❤  [February 17, 2020 – forever]

Author’s Note: Soooo… This was actually the first fic I wrote after many years of my writer’s coma. Wasn’t going to post it, but it’s important to save the date. A year ago during a business trip I was listening to Baekhyun’s ‘Stay Up’ in the backseat of a cab, and it suddenly got to me in a very new and profound way. As soon as I got to the hotel, the doc was created. Countless sleepless nights later, I can admit that I haven’t really stopped writing ever since.

Baekhyun isn’t just my bias or my favourite character to write, he’s so much more special to me than that. I’m not sure how long this journey is going to last or where it leads me, but so far he’s gifted me with one full year of this magic. He’ll always have a precious spot in my heart 🤍

Okay, done with the sappy times now (no). As usual – big thanks to @baekshoney​​​ for having a look, and I hope you guys enjoy this little oneshot!

This was one of those days. One of the days you hated, and Baekhyun didn’t do much to make it better for you. On the contrary, he was sulking since early morning. First, because you’d left him alone in bed and he woke up being cold. Then he just kept getting annoyed with everything. Why were you having coffee for breakfast again, when you should sleep on the plane? Why weren’t you packing snacks, when the airport food always made your stomach upset? You should’ve definitely worn one of his hoodies, since none of yours were warm and comfy enough, did he have to remind you?

Yes, this was the day you had to fly back home, leaving him behind once again. Which was exactly what brought his tsundere ways to the surface. He was just… upset.

‘Baby, it’s not the first time I’m going home, I’ll be fine,’ you grinned at his grumpy expression and poured him a cup of coffee as soon as he sat his butt down on the kitchen stool.

Baekhyun wasn’t exactly subtle in how he felt about you going away. The two of you had been doing this ‘long-distance thing’ since the very beginning of your relationship. You’d met during your first ever trip to Korea around two years ago and instantly clicked – just like that – not spending a single day without at least a quick message exchange with one another.

It was tough at times. There was no way for you to see each other more frequently, and you were often apart for months. Granted, you were keeping in touch religiously – texting every single day, having video calls every other night (whenever you could manage the schedules and time zones), posting ambiguous pictures on social media only for each other to understand. Still, you missed each other so terribly…

‘I don’t understand why you have to go anyway, you can just stay here with me,’ Baekhyun grumbled, eyeing the kitchen floor with a frown. You pursed your lips to contain the coo about to fly out of your mouth at how cute he was, pouting and complaining. Like an angry little bird. Before you could stop yourself, you reached out your hand and ruffled his already messy bedroom hair.

The way his nose scrunched up meant he wasn't in the mood to be playful. You sighed and leaned on the corner of the kitchen table.

‘You know I have work to get back to, Bae, I can’t be on vacation all year long.’

He was being rather childish about your departure, especially when you were already fully dressed and ready to go. The only thing stalling you was that Chanyeol, who insisted on being your ride to the airport today, hadn’t come to pick you up just yet, giving you some time to smooth over your boyfriend’s feathers.

Truth be told, you were only holding up the appearances for him. It was very possible that you were even more upset about having to go than he was. In fact, every time your week or two together were nearing an end, you felt nauseous at the thought that you wouldn’t be able to see his face, or hold his hand, or feel his warm breath on your skin, or kiss the tiny mole on his cheek.

In all honesty, you were... a mess. You only displayed yourself as calm and collected during your goodbyes because you knew his moodiness was merely a tactic to conceal his pain. So, you tucked your own feelings away to make it a bit more manageable for him. In reality, you broke down as soon as you arrived home and walked into your lifeless apartment. Each time, you had to find excuses and avoid talking to him via video messengers during those initial weeks, pretending to suddenly be swamped at work. You realized that seeing your eyes all red and puffy from crying every night would most definitely break his heart and worsen his longing. That you knew, because seeing him unhappy was excruciating. You wanted more than anything to deliver him from any further suffering.

It took all of your self-restraint not to reach out for his warm embrace or let the tears flow freely. He’d probably not let you go then, always telling you to just stay with him anyways. But you were both adults and had commitments, although hundreds and thousands of miles apart.

As your eyes were beginning to prick from observing his state and getting overwhelmed with your own feelings, you decided it was safer to move out ten minutes early, despite the call from Yeol not coming through yet. Anything to not let Baekhyun see you cry or cling to him desperately the way you wished to in that moment.

‘Well, you can pout all you want, I’m going to get my stuff,’ you said in an airy tone trying to elevate his mood slightly.

‘No.’

He stopped you in your tracks, grabbing your wrist. You gazed at him, confused as to what he meant. He was still looking down, eyebrows knitted together and chest heaving with almost anxious breaths.

‘Bae?’

‘No,’ he repeated, softer this time, but still not making eye contact with you. Instead, he tugged at your wrist and pulled you closer to him. You felt his grasp weaken until your wrist was free, however, your waist was not. His arms snaked around it, and he pulled you into himself, basically nuzzling his face into your chest.

‘Baekhyun?’ You squeaked, doing your best to fight off the goosebumps that littered your skin immediately after the contact. Your body never once asked for permission to react to him, and this time was no exception. His right hand traveled down your spine to the curve of your ass as his nose nudged one of your breasts. You shivered, grabbing at his shoulders, and he suddenly growled, knowing, sensing that your nipples had already perked up underneath the fabric of your bra.

Although he was trying to put you into one of his many oversized hoodies all the time, it was summer, so you were wearing a sundress (like any sane person would). Lucky for Baekhyun, this type of clothing made it even easier for him.

He rose from his seat and hoisted you up so abruptly that you only managed to yelp and grab at his neck for balance. You were then placed on the empty side of the dining table away from the leftover breakfast. Looking down at where your boyfriend’s hands were, you watched him frantically pull your dress up, before coming to your senses and trying to stop him.

‘Bae… What are you doing? Yeol is gonna be here any minute, we can’t just f…ugh!’ You cried out in surprise as he yanked your hips forcefully up to his face, completely ignoring your words. There’s no way he was going to...

‘Baekhyunie, please stop, you know I’m going to be late, what is…’ He didn’t even let you finish your rant, leaving a trail of insistent wet kisses upon the sensitive skin along the panty line while leading up to your protruding hip bone. Breath caught up in your throat, you couldn’t get the rest of the sentence out even if you wanted to. Did you really want to? With his head right there between your thighs, his dark burning eyes looking at you – completely immobilized by him – in the most intense and intimate way possible. His lips were glistening after he ran his tongue over them habitually, and when he leaned in and licked at your still clothed center, you belatedly realized that you weren’t even breathing. The realization only came with the wheezing gasp you’d let out, when your legs wrapped around his head as if on cue. Like fuel to the fire, your responsiveness only spurred him on. You didn’t even have time to realize that your boyfriend had already moved your panties out of the way when his impatient lips were on you again.

‘B- Baekhyun…’ You muttered, reaching your hand down to give pushing his head away a feeble try. ‘We can’t do this now, please stop... the airport…’

His ears seemed deaf to your reluctant pleas as he only employed more of his tongue to make you lose the last bits of your sober mind completely, melting and thrashing underneath his touch. He eased one of your thighs off of his shoulder, pushing it up and spreading you out before diving back in, paying no attention to your increasingly disheveled state.

At this point you could only sob, speech incoherent, all attempts to push him away or close your legs futile. And that alone made him grow feverish with the need to be inside you, to feel you once again before he had to let you go.

He was really good with his mouth, as usual, so by the time one of his hands left your thigh to tease you a little further with his long deft fingers you were so ready to take more that you barely registered the burn of two digits sliding inside. You were still a little sore from the night before, which you’d spent making love for hours on end, knowing that you won’t be touching each other anytime soon. But that was meaningless now.

His tongue expertly swirled around your clit, while his wrist found a familiar angle that always made you get vocal. Your back arched instantly as you cried out his name, barely grasping that you were still tugging at his soft locks and possibly causing discomfort. It was clear that your release was mere seconds away with your legs shaking and inner muscles clenching, and that was exactly where Baekhyun wanted you. Aching for his touch, needing him as much as he needed you. Just the two of you, caught up in the act of lustful desperation.

He’d worked his tongue diligently, almost pushing you over the edge by sucking on your most sensitive spot for just a second, and... then you suddenly felt him pull away.

‘No, no- what?’ You could barely form sentences, let alone complain, but your frenzied tone made his already rock-hard flesh twitch. His pants were down in seconds, and there wasn’t even a thought of pausing to get a condom on or cool off a little bit. You were both on the verge of getting overwhelmed by this passionate longing when... your phone suddenly lit up, indicating an incoming call. Before you could snap out of the moment you were having, Baekhyun had you flat on your back, all slick and ready for him to push inside. And that he did — in one quick and rough movement, filling you up and giving you no time to even make a sound before his hips tested you out with a couple of low amplitude thrusts. The table moved slightly, soft clanking of tableware falling on deaf ears. Meanwhile, Baekhyun grabbed onto your hips, lifting your ass in the air for more control over the penetration.

‘Baek, I swear… You have like 2 minutes before Chan-’ A vicious thrust reached further than before, definitely getting your friend’s name out of your mind for good. And anything else for that matter.

Baekhyun snapped his hips as if he wanted to get as deep as humanly possible, as if he wanted to literally ruin you, and you could only scratch at his forearm while losing yourself in the feeling of his hips colliding with yours and the delectable sounds the action produced.

‘Baby,’ Baekhyun suddenly breathed out hoarsely, eyebrows knitted together as if in pain, ‘I can’t hold it off-’

Hearing his voice so strenuous and somehow vulnerable, you threw your head back and closed your eyes, spreading your legs further apart to allow him to better angle his powerful thrusts.

Your limbs were starting to grow numb and the veins on your neck popped when you moaned, and that’s when Baekhyun let out a strained ‘ah’, holding you in place by the hips to give you his erratic final thrusts.

In that moment you felt like something snapped inside you. Your core was tight around your lover’s cock, your body shaking in pre-orgasmic bliss, and you’d never experienced it this way. You felt so full and content in this moment when he was still moving his hips and groaning stiffly above you, riding out his high. There was nothing else he needed to do to take you along. The sensation of his warmth inside you made you pulsate, wailing so loudly that Baekhyun had to cover your mouth with his palm. He kept going for a bit to prolong your orgasm and let you slowly come back to your senses.

Your eyes stared vacantly at the kitchen ceiling and your throat was dry, although Baekhyun’s hand was still clasped over your mouth. When both of you managed to catch your breath, you just gazed at each other for a few long moments. You were so spent that you couldn’t even read the semi-blank expression on his face. He slowly slipped his palm off of your face, still hovering over your body.

‘Baekhyunie…’ You murmured, touching his cheek gently. He was usually lowkey annoyed whenever you went on to kiss the little mole on his face instead of his lips. This time, however, he only lowered his head further to let you do your thing. You pressed your lips to the tiny dot on his skin, leaning back onto the table to find his eyes with your own.

‘I love you,’ he suddenly whispered in a broken voice, then cleared his throat and started over. ‘I really want you to stay with me.’

It was… bittersweet.

You winced, feeling him pull out, and accepted his help sitting up. Holding your boyfriend close by the shirt, you nudged his nose with yours and looked up to his sad dejected eyes.

‘I know, Bae,’ your voice sounded as uplifting as you could manage. ‘I will find a way to come see you on tour in the next couple of months, I promise.’

Baekhyun was about to say something else if not for the sudden ring of his phone that made both of you snap out of your tiny little world.

‘Dang, I bet it’s Yeol. Pick up!’ You pushed your boyfriend towards the phone and eased down from the table, grabbing the tissues to clean up quickly.

‘Yes,’ Baekhyun responded.

‘Are you two fucking?!’ Your nose scrunched up at Chanyeol’s vulgar shout.

‘Yes?’ At this you paused and smacked Baekhyun’s pec for the shameless (yet truthful) response. ‘Whoa- feisty. Chanyeol-ah, better hang up before you hear her- Ow!’ He raised an arm to defend himself from your playful hits.

‘You realize that if you do not come down in ten you’re most likely missing the flight?’ You heard Chanyeol reply after a frustrated sigh.

‘Not a problem for m-’ Baekhyun was interrupted by your yell.

‘We’re gonna be down in ten, please check the fastest routes to the airport, Yeolie!’

You ran out of the kitchen barely catching Baekhyun’s grumbling as he repeated after you.

‘Yeolie. Why the hell does she even call you that. It’s not like you- What? Shut up, you bastard!’

You smiled to yourself. At least his friends knew how and when to mess with him. If you weren’t there… They got him. He'd be okay. And with that you were happy for now.

A/N:This piece was my reintroduction to writing, and I’d love to hear any type of comments you have^^  Thank you guys for all the interaction and amazing responses so far, I cherish each and every one of them. You're the best <3

#baekhyun smut #exowritersnet #baekhyun fanfiction #baekhyun x reader #icequeenbae fics #baekhyun scenario #exo baekhyun #exo smut #baekhyun #baekhyun x you #exo fanfiction #icequeenbae #stay with me #writing anniversary

[procrastinatingsapphictrash]

A little help from the team

Word count: 2989

Genre: A little angst but mostly fluff

Pairing: Natasha x fem!reader 

Warnings: Light swearing, brief mentions of alcohol (let me know if I need to add more)

Request: Can you do a natasha x reader fic where they are so in love with each other but none of them makes a move and the rest of the avengers are frustreted, even Nick Fury so he goes and sets them up by sending them to a mission together in Budapest? You decide who finally makes the first move

Summary: Frustrated with you and Natasha avoiding your feelings Tony convinces the others to try to get you together, Nick Fury needs no convincing.

A/n: This was an anonymous request and it’s a bit late so I hope the person that requested this is seeing this and if you are I hope you like it! Also I’m trying out the thing where you post it at a scheduled time because I don’t think posting at 11 pm is a great idea so hopefully that works. Also to anyone who has sent requests, they will get done soon, the reason why they are taking longer is because some of them gave me series ideas so obviously series take longer than oneshots. Anyways I hope everyone enjoys the story!

“Just tell Natasha your feelings already, it’s not a big deal!” Tony says exasperated. 

“Yeah what am I supposed to say?” you question. “Hi Tasha, sorry to bother you but I just wanted to tell you I’ve been hopelessly in love with you for years. You don’t like me back? No, that’s cool, it's not like I have a broken heart now, see you around!” 

“Come on Y/n, it wouldn’t go like that, you have to tell her!” He insists so you look to Bruce who is sitting at the other side of the lab for help. 

He glances guiltily at you. “Sorry but for once in his life Tony is right-” Tony scoffs but Bruce continues “-you need to take a chance and honestly I think it will work out. She’s nicer to you than to anybody else.” 

You give him a small smile. “Thanks for trying to help guys, I really do appreciate it but I just can’t tell her right now I hope you understand.” They both nod their head but you can tell that they are a bit disappointed in you. You’re a bit disappointed in yourself as well because you would like nothing more than to tell her but even the thought makes your heart race in a way nothing has done before.

“Anyways I’ve got to go now because I promised Maria I would help her train some of the new recruits and then we’re meeting up with Tasha for lunch.” You tell them plopping yourself down from the counter you were seated on. 

“Bye!” “See ya!” You hear both of them say as you walk out of the room and you inwardly smile, thankful to have such great friends. 

As soon as Tony realizes you’re out of earshot he turns to Bruce with a mischievous expression on his face. “We’ve got to do something about the two of them.” 

“I don’t know,” Bruce says while looking down at his hands, “it really isn’t our business and there’s a good chance whatever you have in mind could make it worse.”

“Is that seriously what you think of me?” Tony teases. “Besides, it wouldn’t be just me helping, I think we should call a team meeting minus those two. They are both out of the tower right now so it would be perfect.”

Bruce sighs. “I don’t know Tony…”

“Please Brucie?” Tony pleads. “It’s for love! And I’m doing either way so you either get a say in the plan or you don’t.” 

He caves in. “Fine. But you have to get Steve to agree with whatever you do.” 

“Not going to lie to you Bruce, it hurts that you trust Steve more than me,” Tony says, looking completely unbothered, “Jarvis, tell everybody to meet in the common floor living room.”

“Of course sir.” The A.I. responds as Tony already starts to race upstairs, Bruce trailing after him slowly. 

Because Tony got so excited he didn’t want to take the elevator and wanted to run up the stairs, it actually took longer for them to make their way up to the floor because, predictably, around half way up Tony got exhausted and needed a break. Therefore by the time they made it the rest of the team was already waiting. 

“Why did you call us here Tony?” Steve asks for the group. 

“Because we were just talking to Y/n in the labs and since she and Natasha are so obviously in love with each other we need to come up with a plan to get them together. You in?”

“Of course I’m in!” Clint answers without any hesitation. 

“As much as I would like to help, it is none of our business what they choose to do.” Steve tells Tony, looking conflicted. 

“Do it for love!” Tony says dramatically. “Do you really think those two idiots are going to do anything about their feelings anytime soon?”

“Well no,” Steve yields, “I guess there’s no harm in that.” Wanda, Sam and Bucky follow Steve’s lead and agree, Tony pumping his fist in the air as soon as they do as Bruce sighs loudly, wishing he wasn’t a part of whatever this was.

“So do you have any ideas?” Wanda asks. 

Tony grins like a maniac. “Yes actually I do. All we have to do is convince Fury to get on board and then we can send them on a fake mission, pretending to be a couple, with no actual objective. Then in order to keep their cover Fury can force them to sleep in a room with only one bed.” 

Everyone looks at him blankly and Sam speaks up. “That’s your plan dude?!!?? That sounds like the plot of a bad rom-com.” 

Tony is not known as a great businessman and negotiator for no reason and two hours later he finds himself walking through the hallways of Shield with Steve by his side, on his way to ask Fury about his idea.

“Why did it have to be us two?” Steve asks.

“Because I’m a smooth talker and charming so Fury will obviously like what I say, and you’re responsible so if he knows you agree with me there’s no way he’ll say no. Steve sighs but doesn’t protest as they reach the door and Tony knocks. 

“Come in.” Fury says and they both enter. Immediately upon seeing Tony’s expression Fury raises his eyebrows and leans forward in a way that made him look doubtful already. 

“I need a favour-” Tony starts. 

“No can do.” Fury interrupts him. 

“It’s about Y/n and Natasha not me.” Tony says, trying to change his mind. 

“Tony, he said no.” Steve tries to remind him so they can leave. 

Fury holds up his hand. “No, wait, this I am interested in.” Steve looks shocked that he isn’t throwing them out of the room but Tony just smirks and explains his plan. Neither of them have ever seen Fury look so mischievous and considering that he’s a spy that has lied to them more times than they know of, that is saying something. 

“Usually I would hate to admit this but Stark is one hundred percent right. They both will not admit their feelings but being alone together pretending to be a couple for a week could push them to the breaking point. I will inform them later today about the ‘mission’.”

“Thank you sir, we will leave you alone now.” Tony says, ushering Steve out of the room. 

“No, thank YOU Stark.” Fury says before phoning you.

Two hours after you received a phone call from Fury you walk with Natasha into the briefing room for a mission. You were a bit disappointed because when you had asked Nat and Maria earlier if they wanted to get lunch after the training session, only Nat had agreed so you were supposed to be eating lunch with just her, which was rare. At least the mission was together, although most missions didn’t allow much time for talking to each other. 

“Do you know what Fury has in mind?” Natasha asks but you shrug in response. You never know what goes through Fury’s mind but that’s what makes him such a good director. 

Speaking of which he somehow knows you’re there before you knock on the door and says, “come in.” You and Natasha exchange glances, rolling your eyes at his dramatics before entering and sitting in the two chairs provided. 

“You have a mission that should only last a few days. Your job is to go to Budapest on a honeymoon at a hotel where we believe this couple of prominent arms dealers are staying.” You’ve never had to act in a romantic situation with Natasha before so it makes you very nervous but you know better than to argue because Fury never changes his mind. 

Natasha apparently doesn’t. “Why do I have to do it with her, wouldn’t it be more believable if I did it with one of the guys?” You can’t help but feel hurt at the fact that she is so against doing this mission with you and you make a mental note to tell Tony about this so he stops bugging you about her liking you back.

“Agent Romanoff, I have my reasons, and this is what is best for this particular mission.” Fury says, offering no explanation as to what his reasons are.

Natasha frowns but doesn’t argue. “Fine, when do we leave?”

“Now,” he says, “you’ll get the full file briefing on the jet on the way over, please read them carefully.” Neither of you respond verbally but you both respectfully nod before making your way over to the jets. You’re a bit surprised by the type of mission he gave you because usually you don’t do many spy missions but you aren’t surprised by the lack of turnover time. Everything at Shield has no exact schedule meaning the hours were horrible. 

The jet ride over there is silent and Natasha seems to avoid you, either in the bathroom or cockpit the entire time except for when you were reading over the files. This didn’t seem like a very exciting mission because there wasn’t even a guarantee that the couple would be there, just rumors, however based on the files Fury seemed to think that taking the chance was worth it because they were important.

All the way to the hotel in the cab Natasha continued to act strangely and ignore you instead of striking up conversation like she normally would. You try not to let it bother you and thoughts of her behaviour go out the window when you see the hotel you’re supposed to be staying at. It’s gorgeous and obviously would cost a ton of money. You marvel at architecture as you step out of the cab, mumbling thank you to Natasha as she hands you your bag you almost forgot. 

The bonus of working with Shield is that you didn’t have to check in because the key card was already provided for you so you rush up to your room which is on the fourth floor, pulling Natasha by her free hand behind you to keep up the newly married and in love act. You burst into your room and stop short; there’s only one bed. Natasha follows and also pauses as she sees the situation. Both of you look around for a pullout bed or a couch but there’s none to be found. 

“Well I guess we’re sharing now!” You say brightly, trying to pretend that you are not completely freaking out. 

“Yeah…” she says quietly, unenthused. Once again you keep a straight face but it hurts inside. 

“Should we start off at the bar?” you ask her. “In the files I got the impression that they’re the type of couple that would like to drink quite a lot.” 

“Good idea!” she praises, and your mood brightens considerably. 

In the end it turns out that both of you are wrong and the couple doesn’t make an appearance at the bar even though you were there for three hours. Afterwards, still tired from your flight you both crawl into bed, lying at far opposite sides and trying not to move. It’s awkward so you want to fall asleep to escape the feeling but you lie awake for hours, dreaming about what it would be like to sleep in the same bed but holding each other instead of turning away. 

When you wake up in the morning you aren’t well rested at all. Staying up late combined with not letting yourself fully relax because you didn’t want to invade Natasha’s space were two things that worked well to keep you tired. Luckily all you have to do today is go around the hotel participating in activities together and looking out for the arms dealers while pretending to be honeymooning. 

You soon learn that it is harder said than done. There still have been no sighting of the targets but honestly that seems easier to you at this point. The entire day Natasha was on you, whether it was a quick peck on the cheek, fiddling with your hand or her hand on your waist, she never strayed far and you were worried your heart was going to combust or you would accidentally tell her you were in love with her, both of which would be bad. Luckily you manage to hold it together for the whole day and take a long shower to destress and try to keep your mind off of Natasha. You think you do a pretty good job but once again you lie awake for hours before you finally drift off and even when you do, your sleep is not very good. 

The next day is a repeat of the first which annoys you because you were supposed to be flying back to Shield tomorrow and you still hadn’t even located your targets. Both of you are feeling a little frustrated so when Natasha suggests you call it a night and head to the bar you agree quickly. You drink enough to be tipsy but not drunk before you cut yourself off because you don’t like the idea of a hangover. Natasha doesn’t stop drinking when you do yet looks perfectly sober whereas you feel like a mess so you inwardly curse her alcohol tolerance and acting skills. 

The two of you stay in the bar playing useless games like darts but having a lot of fun until 2 am when the bartender kicks you out with a creepy look, telling you to enjoy the rest of your night. You shudder slightly when you realize what he is thinking about but don’t dignify him with a response, instead following after Natasha as she walks back up to your room, occasionally sneaking glances at her butt. 

When you get inside both of you change into pyjamas back to back, too lazy to take a shower or even change in the bathroom. You sigh as your head hits the pillow, the last few days of late nights and bad sleeps catching up to you. Luckily you start drifting off fairly quickly and feel more relaxed, although that could just be the alcohol helping.

“Y/n?” Natasha’s voice calls from the other side of the bed, more timid sounding than usual.

“Yes?” You answer, yawning in your attempt to regain some alertness. 

“Do you ever feel lonely?” She asks. 

You have to think about it for a second before answering. “Of course I do sometimes, I think everybody feels lonely sometimes. Why do you ask?”

“I feel lonely right now.” She admits. 

“Why?” you say with a small giggle to try to lighten her seemingly dark mood. “I’m right here.”

“But you’re purposefully as far away from me as possible.” She pauses and you think that’s all she has to say before she continues. “I-I want to cuddle.”

Your heart clenches and you get extremely nervous. “Are you sure that’s not the alcohol talking?”

She shakes her head with an unreadable expression on her face. “I’m not drunk.” She says before turning to face away from you like she is upset. You still are nervous but don’t want her to feel upset and she did mention cuddling so you scoot yourself across the bed until you are close enough behind her that if you moved another inch you would be fully against her. She feels you behind her and turns around looking into your eyes for a second before burying her face in your neck and wrapping her arms around you. Pleasantly surprised you slowly wrap your arms around her as well, sighing in contentment when she seems to try to wiggle closer to you. You want to stay awake to fully experience this but far too soon your eyes feel heavy and you fall into a deep sleep. 

You feel warmth and a press of lips on your jawline and your eyes flutter open quickly. Natasha looks up at you with an expression you can only describe as one a child wears when they get caught stealing cookies. Laughing at how cute she is you go down to kiss her on the nose at the same time as she tilts her head further up so your lips end up catching hers. You both practically melt into the kiss, sighing until a loud ring tone breaks through the silence. You groan and pick it up. 

“Hey Y/n, are you done your mission yet?” 

You ignore the question and put the phone on speaker so Natasha can hear as well. “Tony, why are you calling me?”

“To ask if you’re done your mission, duh.” He responds. 

“Well technically we haven’t done it but we haven’t seen either of the targets.” You tell him, disappointed in yourself but knowing you followed all the orders so it wasn’t really your fault. 

“Not that mission you idiot, that doesn’t exist, the real mission was did you get together with Nat?” You freeze because you weren’t sure where you stood with Natasha, but luckily she doesn’t seem to mind what Tony just said.

“Wait Y/n you want to get with me?” She says in an outraged voice with a wink to let you know she was joking. “What’s wrong with you???”

Tony audibly gulps on the other end of the line. “I’msosorryY/nanwaysI’vegottogonowbye! (I’m so sorry Y/n, anyways I’ve got to go now, bye)” As soon as you hear the line go silent both of you collapse in laughter. 

“Was that too mean?” She asks, not sounding very serious.

“Nah, he deserved it, although I don’t know how he got Fury to agree.” You respond. 

“Well he always was a cheeky bastard,” Natasha says, shaking her head fondly, “although I guess we do have them to thank for this.”

“Mmhmm,” you agree, “but they don’t have to know that.”

---

Taglist: @fayhar @stephanieromanoff @stop-drop-and-drumroll (if you want to be added, comment, send an ask, or message me)

#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #black widow #black widow x reader #avengers #avengers x reader #marvel fanfiction #x reader

[lokigayforhela]

Untitled

WC: 2433

A/N:  This fic is coming from a very personal place, and touches on a very sensitive topic. I would like anyone who decides to read this to know that this isn't something that's happened recently, and that I've been working on recovering and healing for some time now, and sometimes I do really well, and sometimes a movie has an unexpected scene that triggers me and leaves me wrecked for days. This was a vent fic that happened because of that. It's a bit all over the place, I think, maybe? But to be fair, that's just how the mind is in these kind of scenarios, so maybe it works. I don't really expect anyone to read this, if I'm being quite honest, but maybe someone out there who's been in the same kind of situation might find some comfort in this. I just know I wish I'd had my own Hela to be with me, when it happened. Having said that, this entire fic will be under a read more, so that those who don’t need to see it, won’t. Please, if this is something that you think you cannot or should not read, do not try to. Your health, safety, and comfort are much more important than me getting views on my writing. The trigger warnings for this fic are as follows:

TW: aftermath of rape (the rape itself is not depicted, but aspects of it are discussed very briefly), PTSD, suicidal ideation, trauma

With shaking hands, you dialed the phone number you knew by heart, hoping that your girlfriend would answer quickly for once. She usually did, but according to your numbers on the screen, it was two in the morning, and you were worried that she might be asleep.

“Y/N? Is everything okay?”

Just the sound of her voice caused you to absolutely break down, and you could hear Hela panicking on the other end of the line as she tried to figure out what was wrong.

“Y/N? Darling, what’s wrong? Talk to me, what happened, where are you?”

“…I don’t know. I don’t know where I am. Can… Can you come get me? Please?” You tried to remember where you were, and what you had been doing, but your mind was foggy, and you were in a lot of pain, so you couldn’t quite think straight.

“Sweetheart, you have to tell me where you are, so I can get to you.” You could already hear Hela fumbling with her keys at the front door, and you cleared your throat as you tried to find something that would tell you where you were.

You took a few steps up, so that you were on the sidewalk and in the light of a nearby streetlamp. “Um… Oh, I’m… I’m at that bar we usually go to. The one on Fifth Street.”

“I’ll be there as quick as I can. Y/N, are you hurt? Can you find someone to stand with you?”

You sniffled, and rubbed at your eyes with a sleeve. “Yeah, I’ll… I’ll find someone. I’ll find someone.”

“Stay on the phone with me, darling, okay? I’ll keep telling you where I am. I’ll be there really soon, I promise.”

You nodded, as though Hela could see you through the phone, but Hela kept talking anyway, and you were grateful for that.

Not ten minutes later, you saw her come hurrying around the corner toward you, breaking out into a run when she saw you, and you hung the phone up, waiting for her to get close enough that you could talk to her. “Y/N.”

She reached to pull you into her arms as she came to a halt, but you startled, and took a step back, trying not to think about how confused and mildly hurt she looked. “…please don’t touch me…”

Hela looked at you for a long moment, seemingly trying to figure out why you had reacted in such a manner, but finally she nodded, and swallowed thickly. “…okay. Do you want to walk back home or take a cab?”

“…don’t feel so good,” was the only answer you had for her, and you refused to meet her gaze, even as she tried to catch your eye. “Please can we just go home now?”

“…Y/N, what…?”

“Please.”

Hela didn’t push the subject any further, only nodded and stepped closer to the street, so that she could wave down a taxi, and you took a few steps toward her, just so that you could be closer to her as you looked around, unease settled over you like a stifling blanket.

Once she had successfully hailed a taxi and opened the door for you, you crawled in, wincing as you settled yourself down on the leather seat, and you could feel Hela watching you, undoubtedly trying to figure out what you weren’t saying, and it wasn’t until you had both gotten seated and the taxi had already started moving when you realized Hela’s gaze had fallen to your legs, and you looked down as well, for the first time noticing the streaks of dried blood that disappeared under the hem of your dress.

It made sense, considering where and how you hurt. You just didn’t know how you hadn’t noticed it before now.

“Y/N…” Hela’s voice was unbearably soft, and you could hardly stand it, never mind that you did not want to talk about it in the middle of a cab, so you just averted your gaze, focusing on the traffic passing outside the window as you willed the ride to pass by more quickly.

Hela didn’t try to take your hand once you arrived at your shared apartment, and she waited until you had both gone in and she had locked the door behind her before she turned to face you, expression unreadable as she started digging her phone out of her purse.

“Hela, don’t. It’s pointless.” You knew Hela well enough to know what her line of thinking was, and you shook your head.

“This is exactly what the cops are for.”

“They won’t do anything except make me hurt worse with a kit that likely won’t see the light of day anytime soon.”

“Y/N-”

“Please, Hela.” Your voice was hardly much more than a whisper as you swallowed thickly, trying not to start crying again. You appreciated Hela’s sentiment, but you knew it would be a waste of time and only make you feel more violated than you already did. You just wanted to take a bath and scrub yourself clean and try to sleep, if you could even manage that much.

Hela seemed to understand this, and after a tense moment, she heaved a sigh, setting her phone down on the counter. “…I’ll kill them. Whoever did this to you, I’ll kill them.”

In a moment of near morbidity, you almost wanted to laugh, because if you were being honest, that was the exact kind of response you would have expected from Hela, but as it was, every single one of your emotions was dangling by a thread threatening to snap at any second, and no sooner did you manage a blank smile at Hela did you feel the burn of a hiccupping sob catching in your throat, and the next thing you knew, you were shaking as you cried, arms wrapped around yourself, as though the act alone could keep you together while you felt like you were disappearing into the very air you were breathing.

Hela hesitated, clearly wanting to do nothing more than console you as she reached for you, but she stopped halfway there, her hands hanging in midair as she watched you break down. She looked so sad and worried and furious all at once, and it was too much to bear, so you looked at the floor instead, trying not to think about anything or anyone else. You wanted to melt into the grout of the tile, or perhaps become a speck of dust in the corner. Anything to not feel.

“…I’m going to go run a bath for you. I’ll be right in the bathroom. I’ll leave the door open, so you can come in when you’re ready, okay?”

You were worried that if you tried to speak the only thing that would come out would be incoherent screaming, or maybe nothing at all, so you only nodded slightly, standing right where you were as Hela left the room. You felt like you were watching everything with tunnel vision. You couldn’t focus, you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t speak. Part of you hoped that maybe you would die right there on the spot; part of you hoped that you could fast-forward through the next ten minutes, ten hours, ten days, ten weeks, ten however long it took you to not have to think about this ever again, but even in the midst of your trauma-induced crying, you knew that was unrealistic, and so instead you just stood there, weeping and weeping as each minute melted into the next.

“….Y/N?”

You wondered when Hela had appeared in front of you again, and you could tell by the concerned look on her face that she still wasn’t entirely sure how to handle you without upsetting you further. “Y/N, you’ve been standing here for fifteen minutes. Why don’t you come into the bathroom? The water’s nice and warm for you, and you can stay in as long as you want.”

After a long moment of hesitation, Hela reached for you, and you could see how desperately she wanted to just touch you in some way, and if you were being honest with yourself, you wanted her to hold you, too, now that you were safe in your apartment and nothing and no one could hurt you. Taking a shaky breath to steady yourself, and to try to calm down your crying, you reached your hand out for hers, letting her slowly thread her fingers with yours as she watched you the entire time, making sure that you were okay.

The next second, you had fallen into her arms, and a new jumble of emotions washed over you, leaving you sobbing into her shoulder as she wrapped her arms tightly around you as she tried to keep you from falling to the floor.

“Sh… I’m here… You’re safe now… You’re safe… I should have been with you, I’m so sorry I wasn’t with you, angel…”

There was so much that you wanted to say, that you didn’t want her to apologize and that there was no way on earth that any of this could be her fault, but you still didn’t trust your voice enough, so you just let her soothe you until you were calm enough that she could lead you to the bathroom, coming to a stop before she reached the tub.

“…Y/N, I’m going to have to undress you, and… and check you before you get in the bath, is… is that okay?”

You weren’t entirely sure that it was, but you knew that you needed to get yourself clean somehow, and you wanted out of your dirty clothes, anyway, so you nodded, and did what you could to help Hela get you undressed.

She said nothing as she bundled the clothes up and threw them straight into the garbage, and she tried not to linger on you for too long as she looked over you, but you could tell from the look in her eyes how bad she felt, and that was more than telling enough for you, so you just let her do what she needed to so that the moment would be over quicker.

“…okay, let’s… let’s get you in, let me help you.” She kept her arm around you as she helped you step over the edge of the tub and get in.

It took you some time to get comfortable; no matter how you sat, it just hurt, and it didn’t help matters at all when you saw the water start to tinge red, so you looked away, gaze meeting Hela’s properly for the first time since she’d come to get you.

“Hi…” Hela spoke to you softly, like she did in the mornings when you had just woken up and were still half-asleep, and it comforted you much more than you imagined it could have, and you managed a half-hearted smile, hardly more than a quirk of your lips, but that was enough for Hela. “Do you want me to help you wash your hair?”

You nodded, too tired to even think, let alone speak or try to move your arms, and Hela nodded, as well. Reaching for a cup so she could get your hair wet.

“….actually, I should… Let me drain the water, first. Can you bring your legs up? I don’t want the cold water to hit you.”

You did as asked, and quickly as she could, Hela drained the tub and filled it with fresh water, and you tried to focus on that instead of the dull pain between your legs, or the way your head still felt fuzzy and somehow too full and too empty all at once. She made quick work of washing your hair, and she left you to wash yourself, until she realized that you intended to scrub yourself raw, and she gently pried the washrag away from you and rinsed you off herself, talking to you softly, about whatever mundane topic popped into her head to distract you.

By the time she had drained the tub and helped you dry off, you wanted nothing more than to collapse on the bed, and maybe disappear into the mattress itself entirely, and Hela seemed to sense this as she pulled one of her oversized t-shirts over your head and led you to the bedroom.

“Come on, darling… There we go, nice and comfy.”

As you laid down, you noticed that Hela’s side of the bed was mussed, and you realized that you must have woken her up when you called, and you felt another bout of guilt rising up in you, and after a long moment of struggling to find what you wanted to say, you finally spoke, voice thick with emotion.

“…I’m sorry for…” You were sorry for a lot, now that you thought of it. Waking her, making her come downtown to pick you up, making her have to deal with you while you desperately hoped to stop existing.

Hela shook her head immediately. “No. No apologies. You have nothing to apologize for. Not one thing.”

She crawled into the bed, then, turning the lamp down on the bedside table, so that there was still light enough that she could see your face, and she waited, to see if you wanted her to get any closer, and you averted your gaze, so much going on in your mind that you weren’t sure what you wanted, and the only thing that you did end up doing was start crying again, trying to hide your face in your pillow, so Hela wouldn’t have to see you like this again, but if she was upset, she didn’t say as much. You felt the bed shift, and then felt the warmth of her arm draping loosely over your waist, giving you enough room to shrug her off, if you wanted.

“…I know, my darling. I know. I wish I could make everything all better, and I’m so sorry that I can’t…” Hela was at a loss for words at what to say next; what could be said to someone who had just gone through such a terrible ordeal?

Instead, she started to sing, a quiet little song she knew that you were fond of, and you focused on her voice, until there was nothing left but you, and her, and the words she murmured.

“…Beauty is within grasp, hear the islands call… The last mile is upon us, I’ll carry you if you fall… I know the armor’s heavy now, I know the heart is tired… It’s beautiful just over the wild mountainside...”

#tw ptsd #tw trauma #tw assault #tw suicidal ideation #Hela x reader #Hela Odinsdottir x reader #oneshot #vent fic #hurt #hurt/comfort #but like mostly hurt #this is very very very personal #please please please do not read this if you think that you shouldn't #I love you very much

[willowistic22]

New jomike hc au!post college

I came up with this au in my head for awhile now some hc’s regarding this new au on a whim bcs i wanted to tell my friends abt it on a discord server. I thought it’s time it sees the light of day bcs i simply cannot keep it in me anymore. Also this is kind of inspired by the song Dorothea - Taylor Swift. 

Everyone is graduating so que the sappy goodbyes as they’re all gonna be scattered not just all around the us but also all around the world

The couples made a truce whether to do long distance or they share the same dreams so they do it together

But mike and jojo didn’t make things work in the end so they broke up before graduation but still went to prom together

y’know those kinds of high school hearthache

Bcs Mike stayed in new york but jojo flew away (like england or sumn idk) 

To some fancy elite school bcs he’s smart yknow

He wanted to from the start but he’s always been a bit torned bcs he knew from the start of the relationship mike was the one (call it stupid young love or whatever you want, i call it destiny:))

And mike never wanted to hold him down so he was the one that proposed the idea to him

For the most part it worked out

Jojo flew away to chase his dreams

Mike stayed and did the same thing

Both of them only kinda sorta moved on. Met new people but never fully stopped thinking abt the other. Wishing the other was by their side right now

And so they’ve gotten their degrees and gotten their dream jobs

Mike is a coder working in a video game company while jojo is in social media marketing after finishing business school (or whatever major required for that job field idk)

And they kinda hv their life together. Jojo living on his own in a studio apartment with a cat called Dorothea (see what i did there:)) money doesn’t concern him all that much bcs the job pays nicely and he’s good at handling his finances 

Mike lives alongside with his brother ike in a nice apartment too. He manages to get a position that allows him to work flexibly at home yknow. He also has a new kitten he saved from the streets named Honey (bcs his fur is orange like honey) and since his older cat had died of old age

But mike lives with ike who also lives with hotshot. So he’s like always the third wheel. Even worse when ike and hotshot are hving the occasional double date with race and spot. Mike feels even more worse at those time

Decides to hide away in his room or go out with the excuse being work

And its even worse remembering he used to go on double dates with ike and hotshot when him and jojo were still a thing

So ike is like ‘yknow what? I hv enough of this shit’ and hv one good brother to brother talk

‘Dude. It’s been years already. How are you not over him?’

‘Bcs he’s jojo...’

‘Ok? So why don’t you call him?’

It’s not like mike has never thought of calling him. Very much possible. They still follow each other’s social media’s so if his old number had changed he cld always just ask from a simple dm since mike knows jojo is still active in his social media accs

But mike is like ‘i can’t. He cld be taken for all i know. Even if he weren’t, he seems to be doing fine on his own’

‘You can’t really get to know a person through instagram posts. Remember how you tried that the first time you wanted to ask him out? You thought he didn’t like guys and yet still went on a date with you anyways’

That was a real slap in the face type of sentence yknow so mike is working up a lot of courage and planned a lot on what he’s gonna do

He first wanted to message jojo. Seeing if it’s still okay to call and all. But he cldn’t figure out what to say so he procrastinated on that part

Ike got sick of it so he took the phone from mike and messaged ‘can we call? I miss you’

Mike was hovering in between i will murder you or thank you @ ike

Either way jojo texts back with his new number. It’s gonna add up on his usual phone bill but he thinks it’s worth it.

Ok so they talked for like soooo long

7?8?hours?

Basically the whole night for mike

It felt like high school all over again

They were just catching up with each other and talking abt absolute bullshit at the same time

Till they got to the point where they mentioned how they’re both single and the air kinda shifts

Deep down mike and jojo knows what this means

As far as jojo is concerned, mike was the one that messaged him that he misses him

It’s easy now for mike to word out come home without indirectly saying it out loud in case that’s not what jojo wants

Bcs after that catching up, he knows that as much as it’s a dream for jojo to work at a big well known fashion brand (he’s pretty fashionable lmao) and get free products that are usually hella expensive from the brand, he hates everyone he works with. Real snobs and ruthless when it comes to getting a higher position

The other things abt his new life is pretty interesting and he loves it. But he admits there’s always been something missing and mike so badly wants to be that something missing in jojo’s new life

So it comes out straight forward. Not like how mike had planned, but it works in the end. ‘Come home’

And jojo does exactly that. He agrees to come home for the weekend. He books a ticket to new york then back with only a carry on duffle bag filled with a few assortments of clothing and booked it out after telling dorothea he won’t be long.

He rushes to the airport bcs he kinda booked the flight that leaves for new york as soon as possible. Perhaps deep down jojo really does know what he’s been missing in his life?

He lands in new york on a friday night new york time

Mike tells him not to worry abt what he’s wearing bcs he just wants to meet jojo at a central park bench that has long became an important spot for them

Jojo insisted on meeting as soon as he lands which is tonight. So the whole time he’s in the cab, he’s like soooo shaky and nervous it kinda drove the cab driver anxious as well. Bcs like jojo’s not talking and didn’t like say anything abt why he’s going to central park this late at night and not to some fancy hotel as most travelers wld do when they first arrive at new york

The moment the cab stops, jojo basically threw him a wad of cash. Probably too much than the actual price of the ride but he just called out from the back of his shoulder saying it’s a huge tip. Secretly, he’s thanking the cab driver for not asking him why he’s in new york and why central park at this time. It’d most likely make him even more nervous

He’s running on the path. He doesn’t reach full speed bcs his duffle bag is weighing him down. He doesn’t even know why he’s going so fast. It’s not like mike has anything else planned

Picture jojo frantically looking around the area like he’s a lost little boy in the dark. Barely seeing anyone else in ten vicinity, so any figure out at this ungodly time rn cld only mean is mike.

But he’s growing worried bcs it doesn’t seem like he’s around

Until ofc ‘jojo!’

Jojo whips his head around and sees Mike walking up to the bench from a different direction

They didn’t really do anythign at the start. They just stared at each other while standing in the dark approximately 10 feet apart. Jojo waits for a sign from mike to do anything else, though mike was doing the same thing for jojo

Until mike decides to break the 1 minute long silence ‘jojo-‘

But he didn’t continue bcs jojo was already running up to him the moment his mouth moves and tackles him into the tightest hug ever

His duffle bag was dropped halfway from the run so there was no holding back. The hug very much pushed mike’s soul out of his figure as much as it did to his body

Thankfully, mike hugged back just as tight. If not, it was a sign for jojo that it wasn’t okay to go in for a hug just yet and he wld pull back really quick

In time, jojo did end up pulling back to look at mike’s face up close and whisper ‘i still love you’

Which is really out of nature for jojo bcs he’s never really known to be the risk taker between the two

And mike was so happy at that moment that he just pulls jojo in for a kiss.

And that folks, is how they got back together:)

So everyone has agreed that airplane food sucks ass (for the most part at least. 

Jojo was forced to eat it on his plane back to new york but he didn’t like finish it

Probably bcs he was so nervous and it also didn’t look so appetizing

So after they’ve said their heartfelt ‘i still love you’s and etc mike took him back to his apartment after finding out he doesn’t hv a place to stay. He’d stay at his parents place but the de la guerra’s hv long moved out of new york. You can say the similarities between jojo and his parents are that they like to travel. They sold their house and ended up backpacking across the world to look for a place to retire inevitably. Last time he checked up on his mom, the old couple is driving to Netherlands.

So mike took him home and cooked him dinner. They hv the apartment all to themselves since hotshot and ike are out

Unknowingly, jojo had sat on honey’s favorite spot on the couch and earned a disapproving meow from the little cat

Not until mike had properly introduced them that honey started to be nicer to jojo. And so they eat dinne ron the couch and talked.

Mike admitted calling him has been on his mind for quite some time but was too scared to act up on it. And jojo said what he did just now was the most compulsive and adrenaline rush thing he’s ever done. The roles had reversed for the moment

But now they’re back where they’ve always belong. In each other’s grasp while looking out the balcony in the tiny living room to watch the sunrise and then getting surprised seeing ike and hotshot pile in the apartment

And so now they’re back. They make the most of the weekend to talk abt what they really want

Jojo wants to quit his old job. The firm is full of snobby and arrogant ppl

And it has him working almost 24/7. He doesn’t want that

Mike on the other hand wants to hv a period of his life where he’s traveling full time

So they took inspiration from ike and hotshot’s current plan : get a mini bus to convert it into a home

In conclusion jojo quits his job, moves back to new york along with his cat dorothea so he can live with mike to make that converted bus plan. After securing a proper job that let’s him work at home flexibly like mike’s, they get on with their plan and sets off to travel in their house on wheels with their two cats. They end up getting married ofc and lived happily ever after:)

Thank you and goodnight folks hsnsgsbssjshmshssmhs

#newsies #newsies headcanons #jomike #jomike newsies #jojo newsies #jojo de la guerra #mike newsies #tw animal death

[mutenized]

The Choice Bit of Calico (Chapter One)

Ship: Thomas Shelby x Reader

Characters: Thomas Shelby, Billy Kimber, Ada Shelby, Polly Shelby, Finn Shelby, Arthur Shelby, John Shelby, mentions of Freddie Thorne

Warning(s): mentions of blood, war, and violence (obviously), maybe a slow burn?, forbidden romance, inner conflict, heartache, rebellion. Intended smut. In this chapter there is a bit of time skipping; only 3 times I believe.

A/N: Choice Bit of Calico was slang in the 1920s for a desirable woman. The prologue to this series can be found HERE. HAHA two chapters in one sitting AND posting it before the original post dates? WOAAHHH. Also this one’s a long one so buckle up.

Synopsis: You are the sibling of Billy Kimber. Living with him in London, you heard of nursing classes offered at a church in Birmingham near where you and your older brother were born. It was during World War I and you wanted to do something to help the soldiers from your country as well as the allied countries. Living in your childhood home until you were sent back to London to work at the Veteran’s Hospital, you never forgot about the firey brunette who wanted to do the same as you. Keeping in touch, you both wrote letters back and forth until one fateful day you find yourself back in Birmingham, bags in hand, to take care of an ailing family member. Who knew the moment you got off the train your whole life would change?

Words: 2594

MASTERLIST

A month had passed since you arrived in Birmingham, three weeks since you started the nursing classes at the church, and two weeks since you bonded with the witty yet quick thinking brunette in the class whom you found out was named Ada. You had been partnered to evaluate one another’s quick first aid techniques when it all sparked. Taking suggestions from one another at a pub on the side of town your brother warned you to stay away from turned into meeting her younger brother Finn and Aunt Polly who lived on Watery Lane which evolved into having dinners with the three of them every Wednesday, drinks every Saturday, and breakfast every Sunday.

Ada’s family soon became your own, learning of her three brothers who were over in Europe; the oldest in the Ottoman Empire, the second oldest in France, and the last stationed in a location that was to be kept top secret. When no letters arrived in the post, you were there for the distressed duo. Whether it was help around the house as they try to find out from people in their inner circles if there were any reports of the three men to infirmaries or morgues or even keep the news away from little Finn who was only seven years of age. You found that he enjoyed helping you around in the gardens on nice days and telling you about his favorite types of horses. Though you knew nothing of the animal other than the fact they can be used in racing and that they were being overworked in London for carriage rides though cars were becoming more readily available, you listened to him jammer on and on until he became too hungry or tired to continue.

You hoped for the three of them that the three men over at war would come home safely. For the first time in ages, you prayed.

Two more months passed, and you were three months into the nursing class. Nearing the ending of the courses, it had been decided by the instructor, a nurse at one of the largest hospitals in the south, that you and Ada were both not fit for in field work but, due to both of your wonderful communication skills, that working with veterans that were in rehabilitation or facing treatments for their injuries was the best choice. Seeing that the closest veteran’s hospital was back in London, you faced conflict. Continue living in Birmingham and risk Billy finding out you aren’t finding any work in the medical field but rather conversing and being social with those you grew close to, which would result in him dragging you back to London under his supervision, or take the job that was offered to you at Imperial Order Of the Daughters Of The Empire Hospital and live on your own until the war was over and see what the future held. 

Choosing to go back to London on your own accord was heartbreaking to you, it was like the last day of primary school before you were homeschooled by the tutor your brother hired. You felt as if you would never see Ada or her family again as well as the other friends you had made. On the last night before your departure, Polly had invited you over for drinks with her and Ada. Finn was at a friend’s house for the night which left the lot of you free to drink without worrying about being too loud or filtering your stories in case Finn decided to play spy in the middle of the night. With your trunk sitting by the front entrance as well as the suitcase you had brought with you, you sat around the round table with the two other women you had become so close to. They had already given you a present for good luck. A pristine nurse uniform that Polly had seen a usual at the pub’s wife wear one day as they crossed paths on the street laid unfolded on the table as the three of them admired the soon-to-be-fleeting cleanliness of it. Ada, on the other hand, had gifted you a golden locket with a photo of the two of you that a man had taken while testing out the newest camera to come out. That day you and Ada, drunk off your asses, tried to sit as still as you could as the camera process as slow as a snail. “I remember we went from The Garrison into that damned parlor. It was a fuckin’ shame we went there first. Imagine all of the drunken shopping we would’ve done.” Ada jabbed, causing you to laugh so hard you spilt your drink all over you robe.

That night, words of advice, stories of family and friends, and songs were sung until your eyes couldn’t stay open anymore. The next thing you could remember was Polly waking you up, Finn on her side with tears in his eyes. “This one was picked up this morning and wants to go with ya’ to London.” Polly smiled sullenly, your eyes softening from the groggy, hungover state they were into something more awake and less irritated. Your heart broke as you saw tears on the boy’s cheeks.

“Oh Finn, you know I’d love to take you and Pol and Ada to London with me,” You began, thumb brushing off the tears that rested on his cheeks, “But I can’t take you three, which breaks my heart. But, with you here with them, I know you’re going to protect them, right?” With a sad nod, Finn fell into your chest as he cuddles up into you one last time. It was hard saying goodbye to them, but Finn’s sadness really made the decision settle in. Pressing a kiss to the boy who you considered your little brother’s forehead, you pick him up and begin to say goodbye to Polly and Ada, sad smiles all around as you grab your trunk and suitcase. A honk sounded which signaled your exit, a final wave as you loaded your items into the car’s backseat before joining the driver in the front. “To the trains please.” You spoke, settling into the seat though it was a short ride.

4 years passed, many patients that you had helped were back finding their ways through their daily life once again. Within those four years you had always kept in touch with Ada and Polly, writing letters back and forth about what has gone on in each other’s lives. One day, a letter came for you, Ada’s flourish on the envelope. The note read:

“(Y/N),

Obviously, you’ve heard that the war’s over, thank fucking God (I don’t think I would have lasted if it went on for any longer). With that, all three brothers are home and the chaos has picked up right where it was left off. Arthur is being a dumbass, Thomas is being a hard-ass, and John is being a jackass.

I miss having you here, you’re my last hope of sanity in all honesty. I think you were Polly’s as well, having seen that I’ve been sneaking out to visit Freddie Thorne. Oh, (Y/N), I have so much I need to tell you but so little I can write without having Thomas go through my shit. Let’s hope this gets to you soon, I don’t think I’ll last in this god forsaken house one last minute with the way the ass trio continues to act.

Will you come visit soon? Did they offer you a job?

Please write back soon, it’s the only thing I look forward to now,

Ada”

Laughing at the thought of stubborn Ada dealing with her brothers, you looked around your London apartment and sighed. You had notified your brother that you were moving back to Birmingham to help with the veterans down in Small Heath. Under the guise of the hospital having a volunteer program being funded, Billy handed you over the keys before sending you out of his office. “Anything else? The races are starting soon, and this damn horse keeps fucking winning.” He had grumbled causing you to roll your eyes and head back to your own apartment to pack. Now, with the letter in your hand and the key in your jacket pocket as well as a train ticket, you grinned widely. Ada always found joy in surprises, though they were always small ones like when you sent her imported cigarettes for her birthday.

In the matter of twenty-four hours you went from living in London with a well-paying job and new experiences to living in Small Heath, Birmingham with no job, a house, and one family who cared for you. Gazing out the window of the cab you caught, you pay him the pounds before stepping out. “How much for you to help me bring the trunks inside?” You inquire, the man letting out a solid laugh, much to your misery. “Oi, I drive a cab, not own a fuckin’ moving company. Should have thought of getting one.” He spat, helping you take out the trunks you packed before speeding off. Cursing him under your breath, you used all the strength you could muster to drag the heavy trunks into the foyer and leaving them there. No way were you getting those things upstairs. Not tonight, at least. You had more important things to tend to, anyways. Like visiting Polly and Ada, hopefully. You prayed that they were at the house in Watery Lane and not out dealing with some ‘family matters’ as Ada would explain.

Finding the trunk that you had packed with clothes and shoes, you pulled out the outfit you had planned for surprising the duo. Pulling out the cornflower blue silk chiffon dress, you paired them with the white button up shoes that a soldier’s wife had gifted you for saving his life when he randomly fell ill. Tucking the locket Ada had gifted you all those years ago into the top of your dress, you quickly fixed the pattern curls of your hair before grabbing the golden compact you had carried always and key to your house. Setting down the roads as the sun was beginning to set, you noticed the abundance of men who bore flat caps that had tip’s that, when the light caught it correctly, gleamed in the light whose appearances multiplied in number the closer you drew to the house of Polly. Worry settled in but you didn’t let it phase your emotions physically.

The nerves in your stomach seemed to spread as you felt eyes on you when you walked up the steps to the house you frequented not so long ago. Either way, you knocked at the door hard enough it was heard and took a step back. Rolling on the balls of your feet, you waited for the door to open and when it did? You were met with a man who was slightly taller than you with a freckled face and striking blue eyes. Before either of you could even speak, you heard the sound of running feet across the wooden floors before seeing a taller, spritelier, Finn.

“(Y/N)! You’re back! When did you come back!?” The now eleven-year-old inquired, a grin on your face. The man in front of you seemed confused, but still never took his calculating gaze off of you. “I came in this afternoon! I’m movin’ back down to my house, remember when you and Ada came over and had a picnic in the parlor?” You grinned, the boy nodding furiously before turning to the group that had formed at the door.

“Arthur, Tommy, John! This is (Y/N), Ada’s friend! They met at those nursing classes Ada took four years ago!” Finn informed the brothers, realization coming across their face.

“(Y/N), nice to meet ya’. ‘m John, that tall, lanky one is Arthur, and the statue here is Thomas, call ‘im Tommy though. Thomas is too formal for ‘im.” The youngest out of the three, John, spoke with a smirk on his face. Moving aside, the men let you in before the eldest, Arthur, spoke up.

“So what brings ya’ back to Small Heath? Can’t be better from where you’re comin’ from.” A chuckle left his lips as you sat down at the kitchen table comfortably, too comfortable for the middle brother, Tommy’s, liking. “You know you should wait for Polly before you sit. It’s a bit rude.” His gravelly voice rang in your head and his piercing blue eyes stared into yours. You could tell he was waiting for you to submit. That wasn’t going to happen, that’s for sure.

“Oh, I’m moving back from London. Worked at Imperial Order Of the Daughters Of The Empire Hospital until about three days ago. Decided to move back here since I feel more at home here. Like seeing the horses on the street being taken care of rather than being beat down for not being fast enough at the carriage rides, you know?” You start out, focusing your gaze on Arthur who settled in his seat across from you before turning to Tommy.

“Would you like to see my correspondence with Pol, as well, Tommy? I don’t carry her notes on me but I do have them back at my house here in Small Heath. If you’d want to take a stroll with a lowly Londoner, then let it happen. Just know the days the two of them hadn’t heard anything from you lot I was here, helping around the house and with Finn,” pausing, you look between the three who seem taken aback that you didn’t crush under the gaze of Tommy who was now glaring daggers at you, “Not to say your lack or correspondence is directly your fault, but they worried. They were scared you had died and didn’t want Finn to hear the discussions of phoning local morgues that received army men’s bodies.”

Before Tommy could retort, a gasp from the front door was heard. Polly. Grinning wide, you instantly shot up from the chair you relaxed in and made your way to engulf the woman in a tight hug. With tears in your eyes, you pulled back to look over the woman with a smile. “(Y/N), what are you doing here!? I…I’m fuckin’ speechless. Does Ada know you’re here? Are you just visiting?” Her questions continued on just as Finn’s did in which you answered them all with the brightest, happiest tone in your voice. It wasn’t until her eyes locked with an annoyed Thomas that she realized she wasn’t there to greet her and neither was Ada.

“Hope they didn’t give you a hard time,” she whispered before steeling up and turning to the three men, “This is Miss (Y/N). She’s a family friend, if I hear anything about any of you thinking with your cocks and not your brains, I’ll fuckin’ beat ‘ya. She doesn’t deserve the crock of shit you three stew. Now, (Y/N), come with me. I have a lot to catch you up on.”

With that, you were guided into the parlor, unknowing to the booming business behind the curtain in the kitchen. You were also unaware of the burning blue eyes that scanned you from head to toe as you left. Another thing you were unaware of? The fact you just walked into the den of the Peaky Blinders and that you, Billy Kimber’s kid sister, were an unknown enemy by fault. This was going to become the beginning of the most trivial times.

#peaky blinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder headcanon #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders fanfiction #fanfiction #thomas shelby #ada shelby #ada thorne #finn shelby #john shelby #arthur shelby #thomas shelby x reader #tommy shelby x reader #peaky blinders reader insert #reader insert #thomas shelby smut #tommy shelby #tommy shelby fanfic #thomas shelby fanfic #tommy shelby smut #tommy shelby x reader smut #thomas shelby x reader smut #Peaky Blinders smut

[fantastic-rambles]

Your Move [1]

Fandom: Yuukoku no Moriarty

Summary: I just wanted William to play chess with Sherlock because I’m a nerd. Starts shortly before the events of “Scandal in the British Empire” and will loosely follow the manga (hopefully). A real game is played throughout the story. [NOTE: Given the time period, there’s an argument to be made that they should be using descriptive notation, which was far more common in England at the time. But I personally believe that William would opt to use the more elegant algebraic notation. I also wanted to confuse John initially, not that that’s hard. Lol.]

Characters: Sherlock Holmes, William James Moriarty, John Watson, Louis James Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Fred Porlock, Albert James Moriarty (mentioned)

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 2.5k

"Holmes! Hey, Holmes! Message for you!"

John and Sherlock looked up at the cheeky call, watching Wiggins run up to them while waving an envelope. It was about the size of a calling card, and after Sherlock accepted it and turned it over, they both saw that the front was blank.

"I've got orders to wait for your reply," Wiggins informed Sherlock with a grin, a shilling flashing briefly between his fingers before it disappeared. Curious, John peered over Sherlock's shoulder as he opened the envelope, pulling out a small card with a cryptic message written in a neat script.

1. e4 Your move, Mr. Detective.

But Sherlock seemed to have understood it immediately, given the way his face had lit up. Usually, he only looked that excited when he was solving an interesting case or talking about the mysterious Lord of Crime.

"John, give me a pen," Sherlock said, holding a hand out expectantly as he flipped the card over to the other side. Even though he was still confused, John obeyed, unclipping the pen from his pocket and handing it over. Grinning, the master detective scrawled "e6" onto the back before stuffing it back in the envelope and handing it to Wiggins, who immediately dashed off.

"What was that about, Sherlock?" John asked as he tucked his pen away again. "Something related to the Lord of Crime?"

"Nah, it was Liam. He must be in London today!" Sherlock's stride lengthened as he made as if to follow the urchin, and John had to hurry to catch up to his sudden energy. He'd only really seen William James Moriarty in passing, when he had been arrested on the train and subsequently exonerated, but Lestrade had told him afterwards about the young noble who had proved himself to be as intelligent as Sherlock. John found it hard to believe that there could be anyone who could compete with his flatmate, but he did feel a sense of gratitude to Moriarty for his contributions to securing his freedom.

Still, seeing how Sherlock could behave like a child… or rather, a child looking forward to playing with a friend (since he behaved like a child most of the time), John felt that he could believe Lestrade. Just talking to anyone else seemed to bore Sherlock since it was incredibly difficult--if not impossible--to keep up with him, so for him to actively seek out someone else suggested that, at the very least, he sincerely found them to be fascinating. John couldn't help feeling bad for William, though; Sherlock was difficult enough to deal with when he had no personal interest in someone. To be an object of his obsession seemed like it would be positively exhausting.

"Wait, Sherlock. Wiggins went that way," John pointed out as they crossed an intersection where he'd seen the boy turn left, but Sherlock shook his head.

"Do you really think I'm going to chase after a child? As long as I can figure out where Liam is, that's what's important. Taxi!"

John sighed, but he followed Sherlock into the hansom cab, listening to his friend give instructions to the driver. Their route brought them to the outskirts of London, depositing them outside a large manor, and John had a sinking feeling that he knew just who the owner was. Sherlock didn't hesitate to step inside the gates and walk up the broad walkway framed by carefully manicured gardens, while John followed more hesitantly.

"Sherlock, there's etiquette that should be observed when you're calling on someone," he whispered. If the card had really come from the second son of the Moriarty family, then wouldn't he be in town, rather than at home? John simply couldn't fathom how Sherlock had come to the conclusion that the man was here, and he hoped that his friend wouldn't make too much of a fuss when he was told otherwise.

"Don't be such a bore, John. Knowing Liam, he's probably expecting me." He rapped smartly on the door before John could reply. Bracing himself for the inevitable confrontation, John glanced around the grounds. There seemed to be a surprising lack of servants: John had only spotted one young-looking gardener kneeling by some rose bushes. He had looked up briefly as the two men passed by before returning to his work, and John wondered if the other workers were just taking a break. It hardly seemed likely that such a well-tended estate could be managed by just one worker.

When the door opened, a rather rough-looking butler looked out at the two of them, and John tried to look apologetic, but Sherlock didn't seem put off at all, speaking up before the other man could even inquire about their visit.

"Is Liam in?" Sherlock asked.

The man seemed to contemplate them for a little longer before turning around and calling, "Oi, Will, there's two blokes here to see you! I think one of them's that famous detective!"

His lack of propriety shocked John. Were the Moriartys some sort of eccentric family? Their servants certainly gave him that impression. Or maybe they had hired them out of noblesse oblige, giving them an opportunity to earn a living and learn how to work, so that they could find employment in other houses afterwards, as some other families did. After all, they had adopted and cared for two orphan children, one of whom had died in a fire, but the other one still lived with them. If so, that was rather admirable, though still odd, as there didn't appear to be any upper servants who would normally be given the role of training new workers. But before he could contemplate the situation further, a familiar face appeared in the doorway of another room.

"Mr. Holmes? And Dr. Watson?"

The young aristocrat approached the two of them, his expression curious, but not surprised.

"We were just about to have tea," William informed them. "Would you like to join us?"

"Thanks for the invitation!" Sherlock replied enthusiastically, stepping inside without any reservations. John followed more slowly, letting the butler close the door behind them. All three of them followed William through the room that he had appeared from, stepping out onto a low patio that looked out over the garden. William's adopted brother--Louis, if John remembered correctly--was standing by a table already set for afternoon tea, meticulously polishing one of the knives before setting it down. Four places had been set, which surprised John. It seemed that Sherlock had been right: William had been expecting them.

"Please, sit." William gestured to the chairs, and Sherlock and Louis immediately claimed the seats closest to him, leaving John to gingerly take his own seat across from William. Louis poured out the tea with a deft hand as Sherlock leaned towards William, his eyes glittering with excitement.

"So, Liam, what brings you to London? Another plot by the Lord of Crime?" he asked, plucking a scone off the platter and shoving it whole into his mouth. John, who had just begun to sip on his tea, choked. Seizing a napkin, he began to cough vigorously into it, his eyes huge. Was Sherlock really suggesting that William was a murderer, or at least working with one? His coughing fit prevented him from hearing most of the answer, but judging from William's face, he hadn't taken any offense at the accusation.

"... just helping Albert out," William was saying airily when John finally managed to get himself back under control. Taking a deep breath, he managed another sip of tea without incident before helping himself to a madeleine.

"Albert is your elder brother, right? And he's in the military?"

"He was, but he's been discharged. Currently, he's setting up a company to invest in trading companies or factories in England. After all, it would be beneficial to our society to support progress and provide people with opportunities to break free of the traditional system in which the poor are bound to the land they are born on, with no choice but to work for the gentry, don't you think?"

"Aaaah, that sort of stuff doesn't concern me," Sherlock replied, waving his hand dismissively, and John winced. Of course, he knew that Sherlock was the kind of person who completely ignored anything that didn't interest him, but for him to continue behaving in such a way when they were guests was deeply insulting to the host. "You're probably right, though, Liam. Anyways, it seems that my reply hasn't arrived yet? e6."

William arched an eyebrow, then leaned back and beckoned the butler over, murmuring something to him before turning back to Sherlock. "d4."

"d5."

They spat strange codes at each other, and John glanced at Louis, who looked irritated as he stared at Sherlock. John couldn't blame him: if William was half as obnoxious as Sherlock when it came to flaunting his intellect, then the other man must have also gone through a lot. Feeling as though the two of them had been left out of whatever was happening, John leaned towards the other man.

"The tea is very nice," he said awkwardly, but at least it caught Louis' attention.

"Thank you," Louis replied with some stiffness.

"Do you know what they're doing?"

Just as Louis was about to reply, William and Sherlock's next exchange answered the question for him, though it seemed that they were using some sort of system that John was unfamiliar with.

"Knight to c3."

"Bishop to b4."

"e5."

"c5."

By then, the butler had reappeared with a chess board, placing it down between Sherlock and William. As William reached out to move a piece, Sherlock chuckled.

"You can't expect me to believe that you need that, Liam. Come on, let's keep going."

But William just smiled as he continued to rearrange the board.

"There's a certain charm in moving the pieces yourself, Mr. Holmes. It's easy to just use words to command others, but if you distance yourself from the feeling of having their lives in your hands, it's very easy to forget what's important. A game of chess is ultimately a game of war, and even the pieces that fall to the wayside or are sacrificed should have their value remembered. Don't you agree, Dr. Watson?"

"Excuse me?" John blinked, surprised to be suddenly addressed, and William picked up a bishop, toying idly with the carved birch piece.

"As an army doctor, you would have a better insight into this discussion, wouldn't you?" William asked, staring at him intently. John was reminded of the unwavering stare of a viper, coiled in the trenches and ready to strike at any man unwary enough to walk about without checking if there was anything underfoot. "To you, are the men you treated, or those who died on the operating table, just numbers? Or did they have names and families, reasons to travel so far from home to die in a distant land?"

"Well..." John shifted uncomfortably, his mind shying away from those memories, so he was relieved when Sherlock suddenly reached out and grabbed William's hand.

"Oi, Liam, it's just a game. Make your move already."

William blinked, and the intense pressure that John was feeling faded. "Ah. I apologize if my questions upset you, Dr. Watson. Excessive curiosity is not a very attractive trait, I'm afraid, but it is one of my flaws."

He contemplated the board briefly before placing down the piece in his hand. "Bishop to d2."

"Brother," Louis interrupted softly. "We're supposed to meet Albert soon."

"Is it that time already?" William pulled out a pocket watch, opening it to examine the dial. Then, he snapped it closed again, getting to his feet and straightening his clothing. "I do apologize, gentlemen, but we have a prior engagement. If you'll just wait a short while, Mr. Moran will call you a cab."

"Eh, don't be such a killjoy, Liam. You're heading into town, right? You could give us a ride," Sherlock protested, but William shook his head, smiling enigmatically.

"Unfortunately, I would not be good company. There are several documents that I was planning to go over this afternoon, so I'll need to catch up on them in the carriage instead. But it was worth it, as this was far more enjoyable. Mr. Holmes, Dr. Watson." He inclined his head slightly in a clear farewell, leaving the patio with his brother trailing behind him.

"Liam! Knight to e7!" Sherlock called after him before slumping back in his chair. He reached out to nudge his knight forward before sighing and tilting his head back to stare at the sky. John recognized the signs for the start of one of his flatmate's dark moods, but fortunately, the butler came to fetch them before Sherlock tried to do anything extreme. Again, John was struck by how unprofessional the man seemed as he ushered them out the door and into the waiting carriage.

"Sherlock, what do you think of the butler? Mr. Moran?" John asked in an attempt to distract his friend as the horses clopped through the gate. Sherlock was digging around in his pockets, eventually pulling out his cigarette case and taking one out.

"Match," he ordered brusquely, and John handed him the requested match, waiting for him to light his cigarette and take a long drag. Only after that did Sherlock deign to answer his question.

"He isn't a butler by trade. He was a soldier before--an officer, most likely, since he seems to come from a noble family. He probably saw a lot of men that he cared about die while he was abroad, but unlike you, he seems to be mostly over it now. Perhaps you should ask him for a referral to his therapist."

John frowned. "What's a man like that doing as a butler?"

"What's an army doctor doing as an assistant to the world's only consulting detective?" Sherlock retorted. "People have their own circumstances, and their decisions don't always make sense to others. What?"

John was gaping at his friend as though he'd suddenly grown another head.

"What?" Sherlock repeated, and John shook off his surprise slowly.

"I didn't expect you to actually show consideration towards someone else," he replied, his eyebrows still raised.

"What are you talking about? What about Hope?" Sherlock pointed out, sounding mildly irritated, as he usually did whenever John pointed out something patently obvious--at least to Sherlock. But before John could respond, the carriage stopped, and their driver announced, "221 Baker Street!"

They exited the cab, and as they were crossing the threshold of 221B, John suddenly remembered another, more pressing issue.

"And what was that about? Accusing William of being the Lord of Crime? Even as a joke, that was incredibly rude of you!" he reprimanded Sherlock, only to be taken aback when the other man actually laughed out loud. The suddenness of it even prompted Miss Hudson to poke her head around the corner to see what was happening.

"He's brilliant, isn't he? But you don't need to worry about that, John. He's just playing along, like he did on the train. God, if he really was the Lord, it would be perfect!"

Still laughing, he headed upstairs. John exchanged an exasperated look with Miss Hudson's confused one, then headed up himself.

[Part 2]

#yuukoku no moriarty #moriarty the patriot #yuumori #ynm #fanfic #fan fic #sherlock holmes #william james moriarty #john watson #louis james moriarty #sebastian moran #fred porlock #albert james moriarty #mine #fun trivia: if the card was treated as an actual calling/visiting card then sherlock was rude as fuck #because receiving the card in an envelope means please don't visit me #and the extra settings were actually supposed to be for moran and fred lol

[harley-sunday]

The Draw - Epilogue

Summary: The whirlwind starts at the 2018 ACE Comic Con in Phoenix but you’re not sure where it will end…

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x reader (unnamed OFC)

Warnings: Language.

Word count: 1.9k

AN: This it. It’s done. I don’t really know what to say other than that I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. The ending (part 17) was supposed to be something completely different up until last week, when eL convinced me to take the angsty-route. I’m glad she did, because it allowed me to include a piece in the epilogue I wrote a long time ago but never really got to use until now. Thank you, sweets! Here it is, guys, enjoy! ♥

Masterlist

His collar is up and his hands are tucked deep into the pockets of his jacket because it’s cold, much colder than it usually is this time of year anyway. He looks up at the dark sky and wonders if there’s any snow in the clouds that slowly drift by, trying to remember if he’s heard anything about it on the news earlier that day but not recalling a weather warning going out. 

He’s on his way home after another meeting with his lawyer, who, for some reason, always insists they meet in a restaurant rather than his office. It’s never during normal business hours either but always late at night, and always somewhere else. At first he was fine with the arrangement but it’s starting to annoy him that the restaurants have become increasingly more expensive and he’s always the one that ends up footing the bill. As if he doesn’t pay his lawyer enough to help him come out of this messy divorce as unscathed as possible. 

He shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the guilt that he feels about wasting three years of his life in a loveless marriage that never had a chance of succeeding in the first place. His therapist tells him to look at it as personal growth, but he doesn’t agree, not really, anyway. At least the court date has been set, he thinks, and this should all be over and done with two weeks from now.

He quickens his pace as he lets his mind wander, taking long strides, looking straight ahead and not paying much attention to the few people that are out this late. Most of them ignore him too. It’s New York after all. For a moment he debates the option of hauling a cab to get him out of this cold but he dismisses the idea quickly. He likes the walk home from downtown, it gives him an opportunity to clear his head and helps with the insomnia that sometimes bothers him. 

Crossing the street absentmindedly there’s something on the other side that catches his eye. He does a classic double take and then shakes his head, not quite believing what he sees. He must have walked by these storefronts at least a dozen times and tries to recall if the art gallery has always been there, but he simply can’t remember. The black canvas that’s displayed in the window is illuminated from above by a single light bulb, highlighting the various brush strokes going from left to right and top to bottom. He knows it’s called ‘Love’ before even looking at the little card pinned to the bottom right corner, and it’s like someone’s punched him in the gut. He first saw it a few years ago, when it was still a work in progress, standing on an easel in her guest bedroom in Charlotte, the paint still wet, and the black somehow less black. 

It’s then he notices the lights inside the building are on and it’s like his body has a mind of its own and before he knows it he’s on his way in. A bell chimes above his head as he enters and he hears a chair being pushed back in response somewhere. The space he’s in is long and narrow, only about fifteen feet wide, but the ceiling’s high and makes it feel more spacious than it is. There’s a wall about forty feet in, with a door that’s slightly ajar, and music flowing in from the back room, some song he thinks he recognizes but hasn’t heard in a long time. 

“I am so sorry but we are closed,” the voice is soft, coming from behind the door, but he would recognize it anywhere and he chokes up a little at the familiarity of it all. The door opens a little more then and all of sudden she’s there, exactly like he remembers her, “I must have forgotten to-” but she doesn’t finish her sentence because it’s then she sees him. Her eyes widen in shock and she actually drops the paintbrush she’s holding, her eyes never leaving his.

“Hey,” he says with a foolish grin, because never in a million years did he expect to run into her again, not here, and definitely not tonight.

“Hey,” she mimics, her eyes softening and the hint of a smile on her lips.

He takes the few steps needed to get to her, and for a moment he hesitates, unsure if she’d let him, but then he throws his arms around her and pulls her in for a hug. He can feel her smile against his shoulder, and he presses a kiss into her hair, because God, does it feel good to hold her again. 

“Here you go,” 

He takes the beer she hands him and waits until she’s uncapped hers before he raises it in a toast. She clinks her bottle against his and takes a swig and he follows suit. 

They’re sitting on the floor of what turns out to be her art gallery, their backs against the far wall, looking out on the dark street on the other side of the window. She turned the lights off before she brought him his beer, except for the lone bulb illuminating ‘Love’, and it feels like they’re in a little bubble, shielded from whatever’s going on outside and if someone told them he’d have a way of making this little moment in time last forever, he’s sure he would. 

He’s taken his jacket off, using it as something to sit on after she admitted she’s only got one chair here, his legs stretched out in front of him and his head resting against the bare brick wall. He’s got a million questions for her but he’s not sure where to begin and so he takes another sip of his beer instead, letting the silence settle between them.

She’s sitting next to him, close enough that her arm brushes against his whenever she takes a drink and it feels like there are little electric currents running through him every time she does. She looks up at him then, her eyes narrowed, almost as if she’s studying him, “You ok?”

He wants to tell her he’s fine, great even, but the way she looks at him tells him she’ll see straight through any bullshit answer he’ll try to give and so shakes his head, “Not really.” 

“Talk to me,” 

He opens his mouth to say something but then decides against it. They haven’t seen each other in four years and so much has happened but none of it they went through together and-

“It’s ok if you don’t want to,” her voice is soft and kind. She clears her throat then, “It’s just- I’ve read the articles about your divorce and- Well, the accusations she's made and- I don’t know, Seb, I figured maybe it has something to do with why you’re out this late.” 

“Yeah,” 

“I’m sorry.” 

He lets out a heavy sigh because he doesn’t want to bother her with everything that’s going on in his life, not really, but he also knows she’s a good listener and there’s no one he’d rather talk to than her right now. Looking down he plucks at the edge of the label on his beer bottle, deciding then to be honest with her, “I guess I should have fought harder, should have made it work, I-” another sigh, “They say you never know what you got ‘till it’s gone, right?” 

He sees her nod out of the corner of his eye, and then her hand’s on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze and it’s like a bolt of lightning runs through him, “Then why don’t you?”

His eyebrows knit together in confusion, “Why don’t I, what?”

“Fight,” she explains. “Try to make it work. If that’s really how you-” 

“Would you let me?”

“I-” she hesitates and pulls her hand back then, “What?” 

“I wasn’t talking about her,” he confesses quietly and when he looks up at her he sees her eyes are wide in shock. He tries to smile, “It’s always been you.” 

“Oh,” she breathes, her eyes a little glossed over now. She doesn’t say anything else and he doesn’t really know how to go from here so he keeps quiet too. But then she puts her beer down and stands up, holding out her hand to him, “Come on, I wanna show you something.”

He takes her hand and lets her pull him to his feet. She doesn’t let go when she leads him to the front of the gallery, her hand warm against his, and when he gives it a gentle squeeze she smiles at him from over her shoulder and it warms his heart in ways he hadn’t thought possible.

She stops in front of a painting, reaching behind it to turn on the searchlight, the warm light casting a golden glow on the canvas. “I made this one right after we broke up,” she says, her voice a little rough, “took me forever to finish because I couldn’t stop crying.” His heart breaks a little, but she dismisses her statement with a wave of her hand, “I got there in the end. It was like therapy.” A smile then, “I submitted it to a local art competition and I don’t know-” she shrugs but he can tell it’s important, “People seemed to really like it. Someone actually wanted to buy it but I couldn’t- I would never.” 

She gestures around her then, “This is all because of that.” He must look confused because she continues, “I kept painting, had some of my work on display in local art galleries, but it wasn’t until I decided to quit my job after Deb retired last year and Mark got appointed as her successor that things really took off. More art shows meant I sold quite a few pieces, enough so I could open my own art gallery anyway.” She looks up at him, “I don’t really know how I ended up in New York, but,” another shrug then, “here I am.”

“Here you are,” he agrees quietly. He doesn’t know how these things work, if it’s karma or faith or destiny he has to thank for this, but he likes to believe that her coming back into his life at this exact moment was meant to be and he vows right then and there to never let her go. There’s still so much he wants to tell her, has to tell her, and he’s sure the same goes for her, but it doesn’t matter. Not now anyway. Now he just says, “If you’ll let me, I’m willing to fight.” He squeezes her hand, “For you.”

“Me too,” she whispers. “For you,” she looks at him then, “and for us.” She lets go of his hand a little, only so she can intertwine her fingers with his, leaning into him, her other hand on his arm. She nods towards the painting, “Do you like it?”

He looks at it then, really looks at it, taking in the different shades of green she’s used, which, even when they’re on opposite sides of the canvas, seem to pull towards each other, always meeting or almost meeting in the middle, and somehow he just gets it. “I do.”

“It’s called ‘The Draw’.” 

#The Draw #Sebastian Stan imagine #Sebastian Stan fanfic #Harley Sunday x Sebastian Stan

[twdmusicboxmystery]

TWD 10x17: Home Sweet Home - First Thoughts

All right, I can finally post my analysis. Actually, there will be several. So there’s a LOT to go over for this episode. As I usually do for episodes, I’ll just talk about broad themes I’m seeing today, and then I’ll do a details post tomorrow.

***As always, spoilers for 10x17 abound below. Don’t read until you’ve watched. You’ve been warned!***

It was all fabulous! It was a really great episode even independent of the TD stuff. Raises lots of questions about these new villains that has me super intrigued.

But let’s talk about the important stuff first!

So, there were the four mentions I talked about based on spoilers, and I was pleasantly surprised to find another that kind of trumped them all.

The two by-name mentions came in Daryl and Maggie’s conversation. I have no idea why the screener said Beth wasn’t mentioned by name. She totally was. Twice. Maggie first calls her “Bethie.” It’s when she says, “After Bethie died, Glenn and I talked about going there [to the ocean].” Then a minute later she talks about telling Hershel stories about his family. She says “Beth and Shaun and his granddaddy.” So yeah, two times.

Then there are mentions that we picked up from the spoilers, when Daryl says people are just gone and when Maggie and Kelly talk about their sisters. In the Maggie/Kelly convo, there’s not a huge smoking gun or anything. The thing that stood out to me was Kelly saying, “you had a sister too, right?” I feel like that’s a very blatant example of the writers reminding us of Beth. That Maggie once had a sister. But beyond that, they didn’t talk about Beth specifically.

The other one I noticed that trumped them all was during Maggie and Daryl’s convo about Connie. Maggie asks if Kelly’s sister is still out there and he says his “some people are just gone” line. (Which is obviously an exact callback to him saying this same line about Beth in 4x16).

And then Maggie says something that can really only be about Beth. She says, “even if you find them, you don’t always get them back.” Which is a reference to finding someone but they “die” anyway. And originally, I was thinking that this could point to more than one person. Glenn, Merle for Daryl, and the main reason to connect it to Beth is that they’re talking about Connie’s sister. 

But the more I think about it, it can really ONLY apply to Beth. Because while plenty of people have died, they were never really missing, either. Merle left, and Daryl went to find him, but just before his death, he wasn’t missing or separated from Daryl for a long period of time. Same with Glenn and everyone else they’ve lost. Maggie wasn’t with Glenn before he died, but she didn’t think he was missing, either. She didn’t even know he’d been captured until she saw him in the clearing. The ONLY person who was missing, found, and then lost again, was Beth.

So, we literally have Daryl and Maggie talk about Beth the night before, and then again the next morning with this convo. And then Maggie and Kelly reference her near the end. So great!

But that’s not by far all the great stuff in this episode. Lydia doing the voice-over recap at the beginning was super interesting. Most of it is just recapping the Whisper War, Alpha and Beta’s deaths, etc. But then at the end, she says, “But we were on the verge of something else. A bigger world.” And as it says that, it shows first Michonne on the boat, heading to look for Rick, followed by Eugene’s group being captured. So, both those storylines, in other words, are leading to this “bigger world.” We might have figured that with Rick, given the CRM and all that. But it kinda proves Eugene’s group is about to stumble onto some part of it, too. So bigger world for Michonne is Rick/CRM. Bigger world for Eugene’s group is Beth? Here’s hoping.

There were some minor changes to the opening credits, as we might expect. There is a burning ship in the background at once point. And at the end, when we see the walkers that have Whisperer masks on, there are a lot more walkers around them. Not all Whisperers or anything, but just a much bigger group of walkers. But I noticed the one that is a Whisperer was still there, which is interesting. And given that the Whisperers left a hole in the Alexandria wall when they left, we might have to deal with some stragglers at some point. Everything suggests they aren’t completely gone, even if the war is over.

Lots of great dialogue, most of which we’ve already mentioned from spoilers, but I’ll go over that more in my details post tomorrow.

So, obviously my TD brain was working overtime and I noticed a lot of sequential callbacks to earlier seasons. For one thing,  when Maggie and Daryl’s group is walking through the woods, it started showing them each walking in slow motion as they traveled. 

Remember in S5, when we got the slow motion walking from each member of TF throughout the episode? I think it was in 5x02. It reminded me of that. Like they might be calling back to that. So once again, it would just make sense if they’re doing this at the beginning and Beth shows up at the end.

There was a green preying mantis that was an obviously-placed symbol. I had to look that one up. Yes, we saw a preying mantis in Still. Or was it Inmates? It was around Beth either way. And check out this post on praying mantis symbolism. 

They actually use the term “stillness.” And of course it’s bright green. Yeah, I’d call that a purposeful symbol.

The cargo containers they stayed in overnight were very reminiscent of Terminus. Oh, but this is interesting. I’m seriously probably the only person in the fandom who would even notice this. There’s a sequence where a bunch of walkers are trying to come out of the container, but there’s tons of them and it would be bad for them to break out. 

So Maggie tries to hold the door shut. Daryl runs up to help her but here’s too many in there for just the two of them to overpower them. Finally, Elijah comes to help and there’s a super-gnarly moment where one of the walkers is pushing its head through the door and they squish it. But the point is they work together and actually do get the door shut and lock the walkers inside, so they aren’t overwhelmed.

Two things I think this calls back to. The first, perhaps most obvious one is 5x10, Them, when the entire group held the barn doors shut against the walkers. And once again, the music box woke up RIGHT after that. So it could be a harbinger of Beth.

The second thing it reminded me of was in 4b with the school bus. Remember Sasha and Bob tried to hold the back door to the bus closed but couldn’t and all the walkers got out? There’s a blond walker that falls at Maggie’s feet in that sequence and Maggie stabs her in the forehead. I always thought it was a Beth foreshadow. This almost feels like the opposite of that. In this case, they were able to get the door shut and didn’t have to kill all the walkers. So, if that sequence foreshadowed Grady, maybe this foreshadows the opposite? Things going better this time around? Just a thought.

Oh, Maggie hurts her forearm, though. I won’t say much about this except that we’ve seen other characters with this same injury and I’m sure it’s significant. I just haven’t entirely figured out what it means, yet. It’s not exactly the same as Beth’s because it’s on the wrong arm. But just keep it in mind. I’ll probably mention it again in the future.

When talking to Daryl, what she says about Georgie is interesting. I think we got most of it via spoilers and the Q&A. But she says Georgie went out west. I can’t help but wonder if she’ll be part of the New Mexico symbolism.

One thing the spoilers really didn’t do justice to is how upset Maggie is about what happened to the community she and Hershel were living in before. She’s REALLY upset about it and you can tell she’s barely holding it together. Daryl asks her what happened, but she says she can’t talk about it, yet. She told him the other stuff about Georgie, and says it’s nice to voice some of it, but she can’t voice all of it just yet. So whatever happened must have been pretty bad, because she’s really messed up about it.

I got the same vibe from Elijah. When he takes off his mask and him and Kelly bond, it’s because the Reaper sniper is hunting them. And it’s obvious that he’s terrified of these people (the Reapers). And that’s surprising because this is gray ninja guy who throws knives and had no trouble killing walkers and Whisperers, but he’s super afraid of the Reapers. We also know he lost his sister to them, so it may have a lot to do with that.

But still, I definitely want to know more about these Reapers. The sniper really is pretty creepy.

We see a lot of sunlight filtering through the trees. We had a small dark tunnel moment. Looking for Connie, Kelly is looking into the back of a truck and we see her from the inside, like someone looking out from the inside. Nothing really comes of it. She doesn’t find anything or crawl into it or anything. She’s just looking in as if to see if Connie is in there, but she isn’t.

In this same scene, she opens the cab of the trunk and looks into the front seat, which is empty. And then she sees a coat on top of the truck. That’s when Maggie and Daryl find her, and Elijah jumps up on top and throws some stuff down. The only other interesting thing is a little notebook (the one mentioned in the Q&A, I think). It’s not really a journal and there’s not much color to it. They don’t show us what’s actually in the notebook, but it’s obviously not Connie’s. I’m assuming it’s blank.

But think about all the callbacks there. This truck looks a lot like the one Bob slept on in 4x13, which was obviously a Beth parallel. We have an empty front seat. Now, we’ve mostly seen representations of a walker being in the front seat, right? And this is the opposite of that. So, much like Maggie managing to hold the door shut against walkers, I feel like they’re purposely showing us the opposite of what we’ve seen before, which just tells me Beth is about to appear.

There’s the notebook, which calls back to Connie, Beth, and the wolf trap in 5x16. The coat they threw down wasn’t a huge thing, but it looked vaguely blue. But the fact that it was on top of the truck (which was white) shows that someone slept up there. Also, when Judith and Maggie talked about looking at the stars, they specifically talked about going up on the roof to do it.

Oh, another interesting line that I’m wondering about. It’s back when Daryl and Maggie are talking about Connie. Maggie says the thing about how even when you find them you sometimes don’t get them back. Daryl says maybe it’s better that she doesn’t know that yet. (He means Kelly. Maybe it’s better if Kelly doesn’t realize that’s often the case.) And Maggie says no, Kelly should know. She says her daddy always said a wound couldn’t heal until air hits it. And Daryl says, “You know that’s not true, right? Medicine-wise?” And Maggie just kind of laughs and said her dad made it sound like it was.

So, I’m not sure what to make of that, but it’s obviously a purposeful line. And a medical reference.

Okay, so when Maggie gets back to her group, they’ve been attacked and scattered and two of them are dead, burnt to death in the fire. We had lots of X shapes in the burnt beams of the shack where they were staying. 

The two burnt bodies reminded me of the burnt walkers in 6x06. And as the episode went on, it occurred to me it was kind of a replay of the prison. This place burnt down and her entire group scattered. They were all out looking for each other in the woods. Also, the reason they knew it was burning is that when they got close, they could see smoke rising into the sky. It looked EXACTLY like the smoke from the moonshine shack in S4.

They eventually face off with the sniper guy. At one point, we see his one eye staring at them from where he’s hiding. Creepy, but also maybe a Sirius thing?

Maggie steps in a rope trap (one of those things that pulls you upward by one foot. The guy almost kills her while she’s trying to get lose. Daryl shoots him with his crossbow but drops it after that and goes after him with a knife. (This is why Kelly gets the crossbow. We don’t really see him drop it but I assume he did because the guy was really close to killing Maggie and he knew he didn’t have time to reload.) This guy is huge and throws Daryl against the tree like a rag doll.

Then we get this really interesting thing where we see the camera looking up at the sniper from Daryl’s point of view. We even seem the camera sort of “blink” which is supposed to be his eyes. And it’s interesting because 1) the guy is taking off his disguise. Yeah, this sniper kinda looks like a swamp thing when we see him. He’s covered in camouflage and that brown netting special ops guys wear to blend in with their surroundings. But at this point, he takes it off. I felt like it was him taking off his mask, as it were. 2) It’s blurry and in slow motion. That’s because Daryl is hurt from being thrown against the tree, but it just struck me as a foreshadow of something. We’ve always said that when he first sees Beth he’ll probably think he’s hallucinating. I have no idea if that’s what this is about, but it really jumped out at me as an intentional thing.

And about the Kelly/bow thing, it’s nothing. People were really freaking out about the picture of her with Daryl’s bow, but it was seriously small potatoes. Daryl recovers and Maggie gets free and they both attack the sniper at the same time, but then the rest of Maggie’s group shows up with Kelly. One of them shoots the sniper with an arrow before Maggie or Daryl can, and Kelly shows up holding the crossbow. I think she just picked it up from where he dropped it, but she doesn’t even shoot it or anything.

So then Maggie asks the sniper who he is and why his group bulldozed their community. He won’t answer her and then pulls out the grenade.

And this is another thing that’s really interesting. I almost want to connect this group to the Wolves. Not literally but symbolically. Because from what they said, this group didn’t just attack them to take their supplies or because they were bad guys who wanted to take over their community. After their community went down, they’re actually hunting them. Trying to pick them all off. Why? That’s weird. And the Wolves are the only other group I can think of that actually hunted people just to kill them.

The sniper does say, “Pope marked you.” I don’t know if that’s a name or a title, but it has religious implications. So, someone has marked Maggie’s group for death, but we have no idea why, and neither does she. See why I say this was a great episode even aside from TD stuff? It’s just very intriguing and raises lots of questions moving forward.

Then there’s little Hershel. Not only does he look like Glenn, but he’s practically wearing Glenn’s S1 outfit. Complete with blue and white shirt and baseball cap. So. Stinking. Cute.

Not tons to add about Maggie and Kelly’s convo aside from what was in the spoilers. But I will say that there’s a huge “coming home” theme in this episode. Maggie says she almost came home after Knoxville. Daryl asks her to come home. At the end, he asks if this means she’s coming home. (She says yes.) They just say it like half a dozen times through out the episode.

So, let me just mention my biggest takeaway from this episode. Hershel Jr. is a type of Beth or Beth proxy. It took me watching a couple of times to put this together, but here’s the short version. The building Maggie’s people were in that burnt down is a lot like the prison going down. Her group scatters into the woods into several small groups, much like TF did after the prison. And little Hershel goes missing. Now, Maggie doesn’t really think he’s dead or anything, but she just doesn’t know where he is or if he’s okay. Then, at the end, she finds him. It’s kind of a return, you know?

And once I realized that, I started seeing all kinds of parallels and callbacks. For one thing, when Daryl was tracking him, he recognized Hershel’s tracks because they were kid tracks, rather than adult. That’s a parallel to Beth and Daryl tracking Lizzie and Mica’s kid tracks in Inmates.

Maggie had a “we don’t know that” line, which is exact Beth dialogue. For Maggie, it was about whether or not any of their people were still alive in the wake of the attack. Beth said it about whether anyone from the prison survived in the wake of the Governor’s attack. And there are tons of those. But I’ll go over more of them tomorrow.

And finally, they find Hershel sitting in the tree. Tree/trunk is a Beth symbol, as @frangipanilove has show us. But the tree is also in the shape of a giant cross. So this isn’t just a return. It’s a Christ, resurrection symbol. See why it parallels to Beth?

So yeah, I’ll go over more template details tomorrow and later in the week. But there was SO much good stuff in this episode!

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #222: A Gathering of Evil!

August, 1982

You know, I haven’t really thought about how long its been since the Avengers have dealt with the Masters of Evil.

The Masters are the Avengers’ evil opposite team. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to their X-Men. The Legion of Doom to their Justice League. The Revengers to their Avengers.

But the Avengers haven’t had to deal with the Masters of Evil since Avengers #83. And in that appearance, they took a backseat to the real master of evil. FEMINISM.

At least according to Roy Thomas.

But yeah. Its been a while without the Masters of Evil. And, uh, any team with Whirlwind has a long way to climb for credibility. Yeah, I said it. He doesn’t wear a shirt.

Also, they put She-Hulk in her at-the-time Iconic She-Hulk Outfit. This is another case of the cover lying. The reality is, somehow, even more embarrassing for her.

Last time: the Avengers had a membership drive because you can only be a kooky quartet for so long. She-Hulk and Hawkeye were recruited and took an instant dislike to each other.

Because She-Hulk cut off Hawkeye in traffic and Hawkeye proportionately responded by breaking her car.

Fun!

So lets get to it.

We start with She-Hulk trying to fix her car.

Annnnd she’s throwing random pieces out of the hood. I don’t think she knows much about auto-repair.

When the electrical system zaps her, she gets so angry that she smashes the car flat like she’s a Street Fighter. Then she jams the wreckage into a public trashcan - also flattening that.

Alas, She-Hulk’s pink Cadillac. You graced our lives for far too short a time. And were taken from us by that heinous bowman Hawkeye. This is the sin which I will always hold against him.

Wasp rolls into the scene, tsking about She-Hulk’s behavior being bad for the Avengers’ image. And hey, yeah! I do like that She-Hulk trying to fix a car in front of the mansion before getting fed-up and breaking it is a good indication that she’s not going to be your typical Avenger.

But despite the tsk she’s not too serious about the admonishment. She even congratulates She-Hulk on getting rid of the car, as it clashed with her skin color.

Reasonably enough, She-Hulk asks who made Wasp the expert.

Except, Wasp did. Wasp made Wasp an expert. She’s literally a professional fashion designer. But relatedly, she’s designed a whole new wardrobe for She-Hulk and can’t wait to dress her up.

I kind of wonder if Wasp views new female teammates as potential canvasses.

Later on, in the Busiek run, she’ll design a new outfit for Firestar pretty much without any input from Firestar herself. And it had an incredibly plunging neckline that Firestar was very uncomfortable with.

If Wasp offers to fashion design for you, feel flattered and a little bit afraid.

Anyway, She-Hulk decides well might be nice to try on a bunch of new clothes.

Y’know, She-Hulk is a bit of a fashion person herself. In her original solo book she started the ‘oops I flexed and my sleeves fell off’ fashion.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Tony Stark at Stark International.

Big boss himself came down to the Long Island office because one of his programmers has asked for time off.

Brenner’s son is sick and he needs to pick him up from school. BUT: he’s in the middle of a complicated computer project!

Like the idealized fictional caring billionaire that he is, Tony is completely understanding.

Tony Stark, what a guy: “Well, your son is more important than any computer program, take the rest of the day off -- with pay.”

If you end up stuck in the Marvel universe somehow, see about swinging a job with Tony Stark. Tony Stark makes you feel/he’s the cool exec with the heart of steel.

Tony decides he’ll get Ordinary Electrical Engineer Scott Lang to finish the programming work.

Ordinary Electrical Engineer Scott Lang is happy to pick up the project but since Tony Stark is in the room anyway, Scott asks if Iron Man has mentioned any news of Hank Pym.

For you see, although you might think that this Scott Lang is an Ordinary Electrical Engineer, he is actually the new Ant-Man so he feels indebted to Hank Pym.

Tony responds that there hasn’t been any news since Hank Pym went to jail so Scott asks why the Avengers haven’t done anything for him. Tony claims that there’s not a lot that the Avengers can do for him until his case comes to trial.

You could hire him a good lawyer? Or pay for that therapy that you thought he needed?

I guess I don’t know that Tony isn’t doing these things off-screen, to be fair.

Tony further claims that Hank will do fiiiine in jail, because he’s tough. Scott remains dubious since he’s actually been to jail and knows what its like. But there’s only so much you can contradict the boss, even if he’s idealized fictional caring billionaire Tony Stark.

And anyway, Tony has other things on his mind. He’s more worried about Jan than he is about Hank. She’s way too well-adjusted for having gotten divorced after her marriage turned miserable. According to Tony Stark anyway.

Of course, his major misunderstanding is that he thinks “she had [Hank] to lean on for so many years” when it was more the other way around. The Jan he thought he knew was actually playing the role of the Hank Pym Hype Squad.

Meanwhile, we check in on Steve Rogers.

One thing I appreciate about this run of Avengers is that we have more of a sense of what the Avengers are doing when not Avengersing. The Avengers book feels a lot more keyed into the rest of the related Marvel universe.

For example, Steve actually got some art jobs! It looks like comics book actually! And he does art for advertisements too!

And he’s living that glamorous artist life of staying up all night to finish pages and then going ‘oh shit my day job’ when his alarm rings for the Avengers meeting.

Although he’s actually looking forward to getting the costume on and getting away from dealing with ad executives and art editors for a while.A good ol’ several hours in the Avengers gym will help work out the art desk bad posture knots out of his shoulders.

And elsewhere in Chicago, Illinois, where Ordinary Doctor Donald Blake has moved to attempt to make a life for himself separate from Thor. He’s doubtful whether he actually can.

I sorta wonder what the status quo in the Thor books is like because usually when Dr. Donald Blake shows up in the Avengers book, he’s been like a wandering expert doctor, just passing through. Showing up to do the tough medical jobs. He’s settling down in Chicago now.

But at least the thousand mile commute to the weekly Avengers meeting is no problem for THOR!

Now that Hawkeye is on the Avengers again, he’s part of the round of checking in. He’s clocking out of the security chief job at Cross Technological Enterprises. His colleagues all envying how he gets to set his own hours.

He takes a train from Yonkers to his new Central Park West apartment. I don’t know if you remember his living conditions before he got the job at Cross Technological but it was a bit suck. He’s definitely put his steady paycheck to use improving his digs.

Old (from issue #189):

New (from issue #this issue):

Although maybe too much. Because when he gets home he realizes that he has almost no food in his apartment and also no money until payday.

Hawkeye: “Where the heck does $1200 a week go, anyway? I don’t play Pac-Man that much! There was more change in my pocket in the old carny days!”

Psst, Hawkeye. Definitely sign up for the stipend check from Stark.

Another thousand a week will go a long way to keeping you living the can afford food standard of living you’re accustomed to.

He manages to find a bag of potato chips to snack on but decides he’ll have to see if he can find an actual square meal at Avengers Mansion.

Likely. Jarvis seems the sort to keep the fridge well-stocked and heck he’d probably make something if asked.

Anyway, Hawkeye being Hawkeye, he’s not going to take the elevator or stairs. He’s definitely going to fire a cable arrow so he can swing down from his balcony. Because, of course he is. He’s Hawkeye.

And he lands right in front of a taxi, the driver of which calls him a nut

Hawkeye: “You want a star in your cab or not?”

Turns out? No. Hawkeye has to walk to Avengers Mansion and arrives late because the cabbie won’t give him a free ride.

Meanwhile at Avengers Mansion (which fails to elicit the same kneejerk emotional response as ‘meanwhile at the HALL of JUSTICE’ from me), the She-Hulk clothing montage has occurred off-screen.

For shaaaame, James Shooter. And also Steven Grant.

She-Hulk isn’t so sure about the outfit Wasp put together for her.

Wasp: “I call it Arabian Night -- a blend of suppleness, strength and sensitivity to highlight your true nature!”

She-Hulk: “Don’t you think it’s a little... unusual?”

Wasp: “You’re an unusual woman, Jennifer! Your clothes should say that! We want a complete image that’ll drive me wild at the sight of you!”

She-Hulk: “Got anything that’ll drive that jerk Hawkeye one way to oblivion?”

I don’t know if fashion can do that but if anyone could design that, Wasp could. Her or Giger.

Wasp tries to defend Hawkeye but can only manage “he’s okay, just a little... um, well, you know!” but suggests that She-Hulk just be nice to Hawkeye to throw him off.

Which. Sounds like a funny idea.

Anyway, I like the outfit. The colors work for her. And maybe it’s because there are a couple Dragon Ball outfits like this but it feels appropriate for her. Because of the punching.

Iron Man comes in and goes ga-ga multiple punctuation over She-Hulk’s new look, which I guess proves that Wasp hit where she was aiming.

Wasp: “Oh, more flattery! More! I love it! And this is just the beginning. Wait until you see the fighting togs I’m designing for her!”

So I guess that this is just an outfit to look good in and Wasp is still working on the superhero outfit. Can’t wait to see it.

Captain America and Thor come in and Thor too praises She-Hulk’s new look.

Thor: “By Odin’s beard! What emerald beauty stands before us?”

They date later. Its one of those ‘wow expected this to happen way sooner than 2018 honestly’ things.

And then Hawkeye comes in.

He also loses his shit over She-Hulk’s new look. But in more of a Hawkeye way.

Hawkeye: “Waitaminit! Is it Cheryl Tiegs? Loni Anderson? No! It’s the new fashion plate -- the Savage She-Hulk! Talk about trying to get silk purses from sow’s ears!”

You’re a rude, Hawkeye.

She-Hulk storms towards him, offended, and just lifts him bodily.

And kisses him.

Then drops his ass on the ground.

I guessss remembering and putting her own spin on Wasp’s suggestion?

People need to stop kissing each other for spite and revenge reasons, honestly.

I do get a laugh at Hawkwye demanding a rematch. Can’t imagine what form that’d take. But its funny.

I kind of have a problem with the scene, beyond the people kissing each other for spite and revenge thing. Prior to joining the Avengers, the issue where She-Hulk got her pink Cadillac was Marvel Two-In-One #88 where she spent nearly the entire issue hitting on the Thing to his discomfort. And the joke was Ha Ha Sexually Assertive Women.

I really hope that we do not have that again.

Anyway, the other Avengers get some yuks over She-Hulk’s method of shutting up Hawkeye.

Iron Man even suggests that Hawkeye and She-Hulk have just had their first date to Hawkeye’s dismay.

Seriously, someone write an Avengers code of conduct and then create an HR department.

MEANWHILE, CHANGING THE TOPIC AND THE SCENE

In Egghead’s secret Manhattan laboratory.

Egghead: “No, it’s not fair! All I ever wanted was to rule the world -- is that so much to ask? I’m 52. That doesn’t give me many years left -- that idiot Henry Pym blew what may have been my last chance!”

Hah at Egghead having a baby tantrum over being thwarted. And I guess good to know that Hank screwing up the plan by calling the Avengers did screw over more than Hank Pym.

Hank may have saved the world, actually. Good job, Hank.

Egghead laments that he wishes he had another good plan but kind of put all the eggs, hah, in the unstoppable adamantium robots basket.

And then his sexy maid Anna chimes in with a suggestion.

Wait, why does Egghead of all villains have a sexy maid? Who seems to have a crush on him? Why is this a thing? Who in or out of universe looks at Egghead and thinks ‘yes this man is a sexual dynamo’?

Eh, whatever.

Anna: “Vhy don’t choo just buy the vorld, darlkink?”

Egghead: “Anna! Vhat... er, what did you say?”

Anna: “You should make a lot ov money und buy the vorld!”

Egghead: “Work?! Disgusting!”

This is probably the only time I will ever be able to say this but I agree with Egghead.

Anna: “No, no, no! Just invent somethink that everyvun vants -- a cure for baldness, mebbe... or eternal youth!”

Egghead: “That’s silly, Anna! Or is it?”

IT IN FACT WASN’T!

Egghead suddenly stands up, dumping sexy maid Anna to the floor, as he realizes that she’s right! If Egghead could invent cell rejuvenation to give people eternal youth, the world would be his oyster! People would give anything for it!

Granted, he has no idea how to invent cell rejuvenation but that’s tomorrow’s problem. Today’s problem is the logistics. He’ll need research, money, equipment and most importantly of all lackeys to steal all that stuff for him so he won’t have to Effort!

So moments later, Egghead signals a robot spy capsule that he has monitoring Atlantis at all times just because.

Egghead’s spy capsule launches a guided missile at an Atlantean prison, busting out someone mysterious unless you happened to glance at the cover.

And we go from one prison to another prison to pop in on Hank Pym at Ryker’s Island.

Ryker’s is apparently the go-to supervillain prison.

And whoops Hank Pym is one now, at least according to the law. What with being caught with all that stolen adamantium and the mind control prosthetic arm.

Hank Pym: “It just doesn’t make sense! All I tried to do was redeem myself, but things just got out of control! Egghead’s responsible for this! He committed the crime I’m accused of -- and made sure I can’t prove it! Why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

Probably because you did do the crime and were caught in the act and you wouldn’t explain yourself fully afterward. Just saying.

Hank Pym: “Jan! That’s where it all went wrong! If I could get her back, everything would work out! I know it!”

Hank Hank Hank... You’re suddenly a romantic.

A guard yells at Hank that its food time and then further yells that his son had looked up to Hank, which causes Hank to reflect whoops he let down more than just Jan and the Avengers.

When Hank sits down to eat prison chow, he’s accosted by Dave Cannon aka WHIRLWIND aka I guess Hank’s backup archnemesis?

Hank isn’t really spoiled for choice with good archnemeses so he either has Egghead or spin around real fast man.

At least Dave Cannon aka Whirlwind is trying to go for the personal lowblow. That’s a decent, if gross, archnemesis move.

He insinuates that hey if Jan divorced Hank that means Dave has a chance with her and he’s going to visit her as soon as he jailbreaks out of here today.

I’m sure he does have a chance. Like a snowball’s in hell, maybe.

Hank tells Dave to shut up because shut up, Dave.

But Dave ups the ante by suggesting that after Hank Pym gets out of jail in maybe ten or twenty years, he and Jan will hire Hank to be their chauffeur.

So Hank smashes a tray of food in Dave’s face because shut up, Dave.

He also starts punching him because in for a penny.

And because Hank totally started that ‘fight’ the guards haul Hank off for a month in solitary.

You wouldn’t think Hank’s life could get worse in every issue he appears in but you would be wrong.

And wouldn’t you know it? As soon as Hank is out of the room, the jailbreak starts without him.

He doesn’t even get to participate in activities now! Geez, Dave Cannon! You’re ruining prison for Hank.

Anyway, the mysterious figure from the Atlantis jailbreak scene is now jailbreaking Ryker’s and iiiiiits TIGER SHARK!

A guy I know almost nothing about!

-google- Ah, Namor foe. That explains him being a shark man.

He used to be an Olympic swimmer who injured his spinal cord when he rescued a drowning man. So a pretty good guy, starting off. Then to heal his spine he participated in an experimental procedure where Namor and tiger shark DNA was blended with his own and he became a shark man and an asshole.

I think that’s the Namor DNA personally. It makes people into jerks. And Namor is 100% Namor DNA so you can imagine what a jerk he is.

I’ve gotten lost in the weeds.

Tiger Shark busts in through a supposedly impregnable prison wall. The guards try to shoot him with ‘special weapons’ but Tiger Shark thwarts them with a special weapon of his own.

A TABLE!

Which he uses to block the shots and then hit them with.

They were fools to put their faith in high-falutin’ technology when they could have been investing in low-falutin’ carpentry.

That’s right, they should have gotten wooden guns.

With the guards tabled for now, Tiger Shark collects Scorpion and Whirlwind.

That’s two supervillains on his shopping list but there’s one more to get.

So the three detour over down to the women’s wing while the jailbreak of everyone else keeps the guards very busy.

And they find Dr. Karla Sofen, Ordinary Criminal Psychologist who got superpower from a space rock. Y’know, a Moonstone.

She has a few follow-up questions before she throws in with these goons but Tiger Shark isn’t a good conversationalist.

Tiger Shark: “You wanna get snuffed right here, lady?! Move! Negotiations are closed!”

She grudgingly accepts these terms. The caption box says so.

The four supervillains take a remote controlled escape boat and escape on a boat.

Later, in a safehouse on Long Island Sound, the four supervillains are all costumed up and already feeling cooped up with each other. It is a small house and they are all big personalities.

Tiger Shark and Whirlwind even get into a fight when Tiger Shark complains about waiting and about suburbia and Whirlwind tells him to shut up. And by fight I mean Tiger Shark smacks Whirlwind in the head. Because its Whirlwind.

Ant-Man’s backup archnemesis. And Tiger Shark fights Namor. Its a mismatch.

But its enough of a ‘fight’ to cause a stir.

Egghead: “Stop your silly squabbling! Fighting among yourselves won’t further my plans!”

Moonstone: “Wha -- ?! Egghead?!”

Tiger Shark: “What’s an Egghead?”

Hah.

I don’t know why this exchange amuses me so much.

Egghead is perfectly happy to introduce himself slash ramble on and on with words words words. He is PERHAPS the world’s greatest genius (hahahahah noooo) but says he may find a cure to Tiger Shark’s “repugnant amphibious condition.”

Egghead: “If you all follow me without question, you’ll share in my forthcoming power and wealth! In addition to being bodyguards, you’ll perform various tasks for me -- beginning tonight, when you loot a certain Manhattan medical research center to obtain data and supplies! Cross me -- and no one will ever hear from you again!”

I’ll make fun of Egghead any day of the week but I’ll give him this. He evidently delivers this speech with such conviction that ‘shark man who fights Namor’ just nods and apparently thinks yes this sounds legit.

And lets be honest, between Whirlwind, Scorpion, Moonstone, and Tiger Shark none of them look at this eggheaded guy threatening them and think about trying something.

Egghead appoints Moonstone his deputy and team leader. Because, he says, she’s such a well-trained follower.

Okay, okay, okay. Okay.

So, Dr. Karla Sofen first appeared as a henchwoman to Dr. Faustus.

But then she tricked the original Moonstone into giving the moonstone to her and became the new Moonstone. And here I didn’t even know there was an original Moonstone.

My point being, yes, early on you might look at Moonstone’s history and think ‘yes she’s definitely a subordinate person who won’t give me trouble’ but from a modern perspective?

I know Modern Moonstone for basically being the Starscream of whatever team she’s on. Starting from Thunderbolts at least, she’s never the boss, she’s happy being the deputy but she’s always scheming and manipulating and undermining her boss.

I really want this to be a hilariously bad judge of character Egghead has made. I really do.

Meanwhile, Whirlwind thinks that he’ll play along with Egghead’s plans. Until he gets bored.

And then I guess he gets bored like five seconds later because he decides that since the job Egghead wants them to do isn’t until evening, he can go visit Wasp.

And yeah. We scene transition to Avengers Mansion and Whirlwind is just lurking in the bushes spying on Wasp’s limo.

Inside the mansion, with the Avengers’ meeting over, the Avengers all get ready to go about the rest of their business.

Hawkeye saying he has to get home gets She-Hulk to start musing on how she hasn’t had a real home since she left Los Angeles.

Which she did for... reasons? She seemed like she was going to stay in LA at the end of her original Savage She-Hulk book. She probably did it so she could do crossovers. That makes sense.

Wasp tells She-Hulk that since Tony doesn’t charge rent, She-Hulk can just stay at Avengers Mansion for a while. And in a couple days, she’ll take She-Hulk apartment hunting.

Wasp is a good friend.

She heads out to her limo and tells Mr. Carrothers to take her to her Manhattan apartment.

BUT WHOOPS iiiiiiiiiits Whirlwind!

He knocked out Mr. Carrothers over the head and stashed him in the bushes. Wow, being Wasp’s chauffeur is very eventful.

Whirlwind: “Forget him. I’m the man in your life now! I figure with your ex in the slammer, you’re gonna need an understanding shoulder to lean on -- .”

And then Wasp shrinks down and shoots Whirlwind in the face.

Wasp: “That’s awfully considerate of you. But next time send flowers first, okay? By the way, have you ever met me bio-electric sting?”

Get rekt, Whirlwind.

This has been a really good span of issues for Wasp. I’m boggling a little. My standards weren’t super high to be honest but this has been good.

I mean, aside from her wearing her Avengers #194-196 costume again. The one with only one pant leg. Of all your costumes to wear under normal clothes, why this one, Jan?

Outside the limo, Hawkeye is trying to sneak back into the mansion to raid the pantry and hoping everyone else has gone.

Because he doesn’t want them to know that two-jobs Hawkeye is having money trouble, I guess? But dude, just confide in Jarvis. He’s a good guy.

Anyway, point being, because of Hawkeye’s hungry little tummy, he sneaks back to the mansion in time to see flashes of energy from inside Jan’s limo.

Hawkeye runs to Jan’s rescue and instantly gets blasted by Moonstone who has just arrived to yell at Whirlwind for taking off without her permission.

Whirlwind says he doesn’t have to answer to Moonstone and a presumably very frustrated Moonstone answers yes he does, that is the very thing he has agreed to when he joined the new Masters of Evil!

I feel maybe announcing loudly that you are the new Masters of Evil right in front of the Avengers is kind of jumping the gun.

Not to mention having the whole time show up to pose like a team just to pull Whirlwind’s butt out of the fire but like I said, this isn’t a very impressive seeming iteration of the Masters.

They do have this much, at least. Hawkeye recognizes each one of these bozos (muffled foghorns from Titan Up the Defense way) and recognizes that he and Wasp are outpowered in addition to being outnumbered.

Reinforced by Tiger Shark just smacking Wasp out of the air.

I think her one legged outfit is slowing her down.

So Hawkeye fires a flare arrow to try to summon help.

Remember when the Avengers had radio rings? That’d probably be a less obvious way to signal for help. Because Moonstone sees Hawkeye shoot a flare arrow that LIGHTS UP THE AREA and shoots him for sending up a signal.

And then she turns to the others and goes “Why didn’t you blunderers stop him?”

Its a good point. Tiger Shark points out though that she didn’t stop him either.

Again: not a very impressive iteration of the team.

Whirlwind, trying to put on the pragmatic hat way too late, says that they should kill Hawkeye and skedaddle because fighting in front of Avengers Mansion makes him nervous.

But he’s still Whirlwind so he’s still gross so he thinks to himself that he wants to grab Wasp before they go.

And what, dude? You gonna keep her under your bed? WHATS YOUR CREEPY ENDGAME?

On second thought, I don’t want to know. Geez, this is awful but I’m glad that Wasp died in Ultimate comics before an exceptionally creepy Ultimate Whirlwind could show up and keep her in a well or something.

Hey, maybe if we tell Whirlwind that Living Laser is also obsessed with Wasp, the two will fight to the death and I won’t have to deal with either one!

Anyway. Off-track. Anyway.

With a sound of thunder, a Perfectly Ordinary Uru Hammer THOOMs by smacking every villain before returning to Thor’s hand.

Yeah, fighting in front of Avengers Mansion? Really dumb!

Thor: “Stand back, perfidious mortals, or face the wrath of Thor!”

Wasp: “Huh? Thor! I always thought you were handsome -- but you never looked better than you do now!”

Thor: “Fair Wasp, thou art safe in my hands!”

Wasp: (Mmmm! Don’t I wish!)

Well, you’re free to play the field now, Wasp. Go for it.

Meanwhile, over in Avengers Mansion, She-Hulk hears the racket and gets up from her nap to see a supervillain battle taking place on the street in front of the Mansion and just kind of sighs about New York being like this.

Again again: fighting in front of Avengers Mansion? REALLY DUMB!

Moonstone even realizes it.

Moonstone: “This is insane -- wasting our energy battling the Avengers for nothing!  We’ve got to end this fight and escape!”

She tells Scorpion to take Thor which either shows a high esteem of him or a very low regard. Either way, Scorpion is happy to try, tail-whipping Thor through the air.

Inside the mansion, She-Hulk decides that the only way to get some peace and quiet is to throw hands. Side benefit: she’ll also get to prove herself to the Avengers.

But I like that the primary reason is that she just wants to have a dang nap and this nonsense is preventing it.

So she OH YEAHs through the window because heck Tony Stark will pay to fix it and runs towards the battle.

Haha look at that tiny alarmed Jarvis in the window. I love that kind of background detail. Amazing.

Wasp takes a break from, I dunno fantasizing about Thor, to fly over in a panic.

Wasp: “Oh, no! That outfit is an original! Tear it -- and I’ll never speak to you again!”

She sure has her priorities. I think maybe she doesn’t think these new Masters of Evil are all that threatening.

Maybe she shouldn’t be so worried though. She-Hulk just jumped through a glass window and the outfit looks untouched.

She-Hulk: “You can’t be serious?! You are. Ohhh... fudge! This is ridiculous!”

She definitely had to stop herself from saying an f-bomb.

So She-Hulk stops running to help Thor and sits down to start pulling the Van Dyne Original outfit off so Wasp won’t friend break up with her.

I’m sure Thor is doing fine though.

Ha ha, just kidding.

Moondragon is keeping him pinned down with her laser blasts and Tiger Shark hits him with something almost as powerful as TABLE.

A CAR.

Tiger Shark: “That Avenger creep thinks he’s the strongest there is. Me, I can withstand the pressures of the ocean’s floor without breathing hard. So when you’re talking strength -- you’re talking Tiger Shark!”

Hey, cool! Its the same thing writers use to argue Aquaman Strong Actually. I wonder if this actually predates that. It’d be funny if Tiger Shark preempted Aquaman in anything.

Wasp (while blasting Scorpion in his Scorpion neck) asks Thor if he’s okay but I think Thor is more annoyed than endangered by being ganged up on by the villains.

Thor: “Aye, the villain’s cowardly attack availed him naught against the might of Thor! I would see this battle ended!”

Tiger Shark basically says ‘nuh uh’ or “Together we can turn him into hamburger!” but then someone punches Tiger Shark from behind and knocks him out.

Scorpion: “Who in -- ? Some chick from Frederick’s of Hollywood?”

She-Hulk: “Don’t tell me you don’t know who I am! I don’t want to hear it!”

So, yeah, She-Hulk has arrived. In her underwear. So she doesn’t offend Wasp.

I guess after the Moondragon arc, Wasp is paying forward the wardrobe embarrassments.

Very rude, Jan.

Hawkeye is also up and raring to arrow. And he nails Whirlwind with said shock arrow annnd knocks him out.

Yup, this is the part of the book where we’re running out of pages so the villains start going down really easy.

Next, Wasp shoots Moonstone and She-Hulk multi-tasks by punching Moonstone into Scorpion and knocking both of them out.

Which means that She-Hulk is MVP of this fight. She arrives the latest but knocks out the most people. Good job, She-Hulk. Even Hawkeye admits that she did pretty good (qualified with “for a beginner!” which She-Hulk just laughs off.)

Meanwhile, in his hidden laboratory, Egghead is thinking that you can’t get good help these days.

Egghead: “Fools! We would have destroyed the Avengers eventually! There was no need to upset my timetable!”

But its only a minor setback and he considers that this stomp may leave them more willing to see that his ideas are best ideas.

I really hope that everyone pins the blame on Whirlwind when Egghead inevitably has to break them out of prison again to assemble his Masters of Evil again.

Hm, and I didn’t wonder this before but why Masters of Evil as a team name? He has no connection with any of the previous iterations, I don’t think. Weird.

Back at the mansion, the Avengers stand around being pretty pleased with themselves for beating up a bunch of people who attacked them for no reason and sucked at it.

The only sour note is that Wasp lost yet another limo (to Tiger Shark’s deadly CAR attack) but even then she says she was ready to trade it in on a DeLorean anyway.

Wait, aren’t DeLoreans known for having disappointing performance for a car and adequate performance as a time machine? Wasp, why are you getting a DeLorean, you kook!

She-Hulk, who sold her dignity to keep Jan’s friendship, suggests that the two of them go looking for new cars together.

OH RIGHT. Issue started with She-Hulk’s poor lamented pink Cadillac being junked. That’s bookends, it is. They’re the Sisterhood of the Broken Cars now.

So a very decent story!

Stuff is being setup with Egghead, the Hank Pym plot thread is still going, and we’ve got a new Avengers roster to settle into.

Although. Between the Moondragon arc and this, I’m wondering if clothing mishaps is going to be a running joke going forward and I hope not. Or at least let the guys in on it. Let Thor get locked out of the house in his underwear. It is only fair.

To the readers, if not the characters.

Although, I guess that is kind of what happened in the Molecule Man story. Tony Stark stuck in only his underwear and had to wear Ordinary Doctor Donald Blake’s jacket around his waist.

Not much more to say about this. Its a solid issue.

Follow @essential-avengers​. Because: reasons. Also like and reblog. Because: similar but different reasons. Selling myself is hard.

#Avengers #Masters of Evil #Egghead #the Wasp #She Hulk #Hawkeye #Thor #essential avengers #Whirlwind is a creep #She Hulk's sweet new threads #f in chat for She Hulk's pink cadillac #She Hulk kisses hawkeye and its terrible for everyone #including you #essential marvel liveblogging

[super-btstrash-posts]

He’s your best friend who is in love with you and you go through a bad breakup (part one)

*some of theses may be triggering as they will contain violence. Some of them also contain self harm.*

SeokJin

Your best friend had just gotten back from tour and you were going to go and visit him once he got home from the airport. Or so you thought. Instead you and your boyfriend get into a huge fight a few hours before he would be landing.

“Well you know what?! If you don’t want to be here then just leave! My best friend since I was a child just got home after a year and if I want to see him then I will go and see him! I don’t complain when you go and see Jisoo or whatever her name is! Just leave!”

You yell, pushing your now ex-boyfriend back a step.

He chuckles and shakes his head before stepping closer. He then roughly grabs you by your shoulders and shoved you against the wall. You flinched and tried to make yourself appear smaller.

“You will not tell me what to do! I gave you everything not your little pretty boy idol! I mean, where is he now?! Oh yeah, he’s halfway around the world and can’t save you now!”

He yells.

That’s when you feel the first hit. As the hits and kicks kept coming you could feel yourself slowly slipping out of consciousness.

~Seokjin~

I finally made it back to the dorm and looked around in confusion. Usually Y/N is waiting for me when we get here. I wonder why she is not here right now.

“Have any  of you guys heard from Y/N? She is usually here when we get here after a tour.”

I say.

Namjoon and Yoongi shook their heads.

“I haven’t heard anything from her since she asked where the spare key was kept because she lost hers.”

Yoongi says.

“Maybe she got busy and lost track of time. I mean, she has a boyfriend now.”

Namjoon says.

“Wait, she got a boyfriend and didn’t tell me, her best friend?”

I ask.

“I didn’t know that she hadn’t told you or I would have said something sooner.”

Namjoon says.

“I’m going to just go and surprise her at her apartment. It’s not that far from her anyways.”

I say.

Before the boys could stop me, I was out the door with my keys in my hands. I groaned as I got stuck in traffic just outside of the neighborhood that Y/N lives. The line moves up just enough to allow me to make my way into the neighborhood and I quickly parked and made my way to the apartment. I pulled out her key that I kept in my wallet so that I wouldn’t lose it and unlocked the door. I gasped and ran to her side when I saw her passed out on the floor, bruises and blood littering her body. I immediately dialed a number for an ambulance and then called Namjoon.

“That fucker hurt her Namjoon! I can’t get her conscious. I have an ambulance on the way but I really need you guys to come and stay with me to keep me from going and tracking whoever did this down.”

I say.

“Okay! I knew that he seemed shady. I’ll be there in a few minutes with the boys. Just try to keep waking her up and wait for us! And Jin, she is going to be okay.”

Namjoon says.

The boys rush through the doors along with the emergency services. Taehyung and Jeongguk fell to their knees when they saw their also best friend laying on the floor, bloodied and beaten. I could barely see through the tears were falling down my cheeks as they tried to get Y/N regain consciousness.

“We are going to have to take her to the hospital. She isn’t responding. Is there one of you that wants to go with her?”

“I’m her best friend from childhood. I’m the only person she has left.”

I say.

They nod and we are on the way to the hospital with the boys following closely behind.

Yoongi

~Yoongi~

I sighed as I got ready to go on stage. My best friend, Y/N is going through a really hard time. She suffered a terrible breakup with her boyfriend and I can’t help but worry. Little did she know, I’ve been in love with her for quite a few years. I grew up with her and she has been my best friend for ages and all of the love songs always end up being about her. I’ve been trying my hardest to help her pull through the break up but she’s taking it hard. Drinking until she passes out and then waking up and doing it all over again. I’ve been staying with her for weeks and it’s the same thing each day.

~Y/N~

You giggle to yourself as you take another sip out of the bottle that was in your hand. You felt yourself wince at the harsh burn that it had left behind. You giggled and twirled around over and over until you got dizzy and your world became dark.

“Oh my god! Someone call an ambulance!”

You heard as your body crashed to the floor.

~Yoongi~

I panted as I threw myself down on one of the couches that was placed in the dressing room. One of the hair dresser noonas handed me my phone.

“It has been buzzing like crazy. I didn’t want to answer it in case it was something personal, but you should probably call them back. It must have been important.”

She says.

I open the phone and look at the number in confusion. I didn’t know the number but I clicked and held the ringing phone up to my ear.

“Hello, this is Seoul Hospital, what can I help you with?”

The nurse on the other side says.

“Yes, I have several missed calls from this number and I was wondering if something is wrong.”

I say.

“Oh yes, yes. I remember now. Your friend, Y/N, has been admitted to the hospital and you are her emergency contact. We need someone to come and feel out her paperwork. I can’t tell you much about her until you get here.”

She says.

My mouth fell open and the phone slipped from my grasp.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?”

Namjoon asks, swatting down to touch my knee and look at my face.

“Y/N is in the hospital. They couldn’t tell me much. I have to get down there and be with her.”

I say.

I shrug off the sparky performance jacket and pulled my hoodie over my head. Changing my performing shoes for my own sneakers and called for a cab. Namjoon and Hoseok rushed outside with me.

“We are going to ride with you in the cab and the rest of the boys are going to be following behind us in the van.”

Namjoon says.

I nod and quickly get into the cab that was waiting. I told the driver where to go and to hurry and he was quick to be on the way. We pulled up in front of the hospital and I handed him way to much money but I couldn’t be bothered to wait for the change before I was rushing inside. I immediately found myself in front of the nurses station, breathing heavily.

“I need to know what room Y/N Y/L/N is in.”

I say, biting at my bottom lip.

“I can take you to her, I’m actually going to check in with her now.”

A nurse says, grabbing her buggy.

“Can you tell me anything about what happened?”

I ask, quietly.

“Well, she had a severe case of alcohol poison and there were some prescription pain pills found in her system too. We had to pump her stomach. She has been unconscious since she was brought in. The doctor has hopes though.”

She says.

I could feel my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach. I knew that she was drinking but when did she start taking pills? I quietly followed  behind the nurse as she opened the door. I could feel my eyes well with tears as I saw my best friend pale as snow and multiple machines monitoring her. It hurt more than I could imagine. I sniffled and sat down in the chair beside her bed and gently took her hand in mine.

“Please be okay.”

I whisper quietly.

*Hoseok*

The members of army could tell that Hoseok was worried the moment that he started his vlive. He tried to act happy but they could tell that something was bothering him. The comments flooded with questions asking him what was wrong.

“Aish, I’m okay you guys. Just a friend has been going through a hard time lately and I’m worried about them. They live back at home and I haven’t been able to go and check up on them yet.”

He says.

~Y/N~

You sighed as you looked up at the ceiling watching the fan move around. You couldn’t help the tears that rolled down your cheeks as you watched. You had just found out that your fiance had been cheating on you for the past three months and it made everything fall apart. You had no one to call because everyone was busy with their own lives, especially your best friend, Hoseok. The whole situation made you feel worthless and like you just didn’t deserve to be around. You glanced over at the knife rack that was on the counter. Before you knew it, one of them were in your hands and you were typing out your final message to your best friend, Hoseok.

‘Hoseok, sorry that I couldn’t be a better friend to you. I’m happy with the time that I was able to spend with you. But this is it for me, this is where my life stops. Please don’t be sad, I’m happy now.’

~Hoseok~

I picked up my phone from the table when a message came through. It was from Y/N.

“Sorry, guys my best friend just messaged me. I have to make sure that they are okay.”

 I say.

My phone slipped out of my grasp as soon as I read the message. I quickly pulled my jacket on and ran out of the room and into Yoongi’s room.

“Hyung, call the cops and send them to Y/N’s place, now!”

I say, quickly packing things back into my suitcase.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, what’s going on?”

He asks, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Tears immediately started falling down my cheeks.

“I think Y/N is going to try and kill herself that’s why I need you to call the cops and send them to her house. I’m getting the first flight home as soon as I can. I have to be there.”

I say.

Yoongi hangs up the phone and gently pushes me onto my bed.

“Hoseok, we are in the middle of tour, and we are in America. We have to show tomorrow. You can’t just leave.”

He says.

“Hyung, I love her and I have since we were in high school. I can’t not go.”

I whisper quietly.

“You need to at least talk to Namjoon so that he can call and make sure that it will be okay with the company. Then you need to make a statement explaining what is going on because you left vlive on and the fans are going crazy right now with worry. Slow down and take a deep breath. Y/N is going to be okay. The cops are going to make sure that she is okay. They know what the situation is and they are going to do everything in their power to make sure that she is going to be okay. Now, let’s get the boys to meet in Namjoon’s room so that we can talk about what is going on first.”

He says.

I nod, and wipe off my face. Yoongi texts Namjoon and the rest of the boys before we make our way to his room.

“What’s going on?”

Jeongguk asks as soon as we step into the room and he sees my bloodshot eyes.

Yoongi leads me to sit down on the couch in the hotel room and I take a deep breath.

“I’m sure everyone is confused. Hell, even I’m confused. Y/N texted me earlier and said that she was going to end her own life. Yoongi called the cops to her house and I just hope that they were able to get there on time. But, you guys know that I have to be there. I can’t stay here, not if something happens. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happens and I’m not there.”

I say, more tears falling down my cheeks.

Namjoon immediately stands.

“You go and grab your suitcase. Jeongguk, you book a ticket back to Korea for everyone. I’m going to go and talk to the company. Y/N is a dear friend to all of us and we need to be there for her. She is going to need all of our support to get through this. It is going to be hard for all of us, but we have to be strong.”

He says, gently placing a hand on my shoulder.

I nod and go to get my suitcase ready.

~Jimin~

Jimin was confused when a staff member pulled him to the side right after one of their songs.

“After the concert, you have a flight back to Busan. You need to be there.”

The staff member says.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

I ask, pulling my mic away from my face so that the crowd wasn’t able to hear.

“It’s Y/N.”

“What, what about her?”

I ask, frantic when I hear my best friend’s name.

“There was an incident with her ex-boyfriend and she is currently in the hospital. They put her in a medically induced coma until some of the brain injuries heal, but it’s not looking good. I know this is a bad time, but I need to you to be strong. She needs you to be strong for her. Just finish the concert if you can. I know it is going to be hard, but if you can’t do it then you don’t have too.”

He says, as I dab at my eyes with my fingertips.

I could hear the beginning of ‘Anpanman’ and I quickly wiped at the tears falling on my cheeks. I bounced back onto the stage and tried to get my mind off of everything. It was hard to do because the song is one of Y/N’s favorites and she would always walk around singing it when she came to visit. When it came to my part, my voice cracked and I couldn’t help but to crash to my knees with tears streaming down my cheeks. I could hear the crowd gasping and wondering what was wrong as the boys continued around me. They had to. I just hung my head as the sobs racked through my body. I couldn’t hear anymore and the lights around me seemed blinding. Before I could register what was happening, the lights had went down and the stadium went quiet. The boys were all rushing to my side as I struggled to breath. My chest tight, and mumbles falling from my lips. Namjoon helped me to my feet and supported me as we made our way backstage. The staff were immediately helping get me to the couch where I vaguely felt a oxygen mask being pressed to my face.

“What’s going on?”

I heard Yoongi quietly ask one of the staff.

“Y/N was involved in a case of domestic violence and is in a medically induced coma. Things aren’t looking good. Staff pulled him aside to tell him earlier so that he would immediately be able to be rushed to the airport when he got off stage. We didn’t think that he would react this way or we would have waited.”

I was finally able to catch my breath and took one more long breath of the fresh oxygen from the mask pressed to my face before I pushed it away. Tears were still mindlessly falling down my cheeks, as my arms wrapped around my knees and I stared blankly off. How could this have happened? How could Y/N have let the situation got to far? Why didn’t you tell him that your boyfriend was abusing you? Why didn’t you come to him for help? The boys all crowded around him all offering comfort. They know about my feelings for you and knew how hard this was hitting.

“Hyung, she is going to be alright.”

Jeongguk says, quietly, rubbing my shoulder as I cried into his jacket.

“I’m going to go out and announce the end of the concert. There’s no way that we are going to be able to finish it. Why don’t you guys get him back to the hotel so that he can get cleaned up and ready for his flight.”

Namjoon says.

Jeongguk and Taehyung stood on either side of me, helping me support my weight as the rest crowded around and got me back to the car. The ride was silent aside from my sniffles and Jeongguk trying to gently calm me down. Yoongi grabbed a makeup wipe from one of the makeup noona’s cases and wiped the smeared makeup from my face and then handed me a bottle of water.

“Drink this. Your voice is going to be soar if you don’t.”

He says, quietly.

We made it back to the hotel and the boys made sure that I showered and they had ordered food and hot tea from room service. I picked at most of the food that had been ordered for me, but I did drink the tea as it was chamomile and it would help ease my nerves a bit. I had finally stopped crying and my eyelids drooped.

“Get some sleep Jiminie, we will wake you in time to get to the airport.”

Yoongi says, pulling a blanket over me.

I nod as my eyes finally slid shut and sleep finally came over.

~Taehyung~

~Taehyung~

I sighed as I made my way through the white hallway of the hospital that my best friend Y/N was staying in. A large TATA pillow in my hands. It was one of my personal ones that she had begged for me to bring with me when I came back. I walked inside and Y/N smiled, reaching her bandaged arms out for the pillow. she is here on suicide watch after a bad breakup last week. I was almost too late, another minute and I would have lost the girl that I love with everything in me. I give her the pillow and lay in the bed beside her. She had insisted that I go home and take a shower considering I had been staying up here for days. The tour had been put on hold for a few weeks just until everything settled down in the media since I had been seen running through the streets with Y/N in my arms. I cuddled into her side and rested my head on her shoulder.

“You don’t have to hold onto me every second. I’m not going to go anywhere Tae.”

She says, quietly.

“That’s the thing, you almost did. You almost left me. If I had only gotten there sooner then all of this would have never happened.”

I say.

“You don’t have to worry about me so much. I really can’t believe that you pushed the tour back just to stay here.”

She says, pouting.

“You are my best friend and I can’t lose you. I’m not going to go on tour until all of this is straightened out and your medicine is adjusted completely. I will go to every group meeting and every individual meeting. I’m not going to leave you alone again. I was stupid for getting angry when you were upset and yelled. I shouldn’t have blamed you for that. I knew that you were in pain. And my stupidity almost made you leave me. I never want to leave your side again.”

I say.

“Tae.”

She says, tears welling up in her eyes before falling down her cheeks.

“It’s not your fault.”

She whispers, pressing her face into my neck, where tear drops fell.

“I would be nowhere with out you. You pushed me to audition for Bighit and you pushed me to fight to stay a band when we wanted to give it all up. You fought for me and I couldn’t do the same for you. I’m in love with you and have been for ages and as soon as you are better I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for everything. I know I should have told you a long time ago but I was afraid and then you started dating him and you were happy. I wasn’t going to crush your happiness. I saw how happy you were with him so I took a step back and distanced myself from you. I chose not to hang out anymore and I threw myself into work and didn’t answer your phone calls on that day that you tried to end your life. I’m never going to leave your side again. You can’t make me leave. You’re stuck with me whether you return my feelings or not. I’m never letting you go.”

I say, burying my face into her shoulder as sobs tore through my body.

She gently reached up and pulled her fingers through my knotted hair trying to soothe me. I could feel my tears stop and my mind being put at ease before my eyes fluttered closed and I gave into the darkness.

~Namjoon~

I walked into Y/N’s temperoary room to check up on her and Taehyung to find them both sleeping tangled in each other’s arms. The abandoned TATA pillow had fallen to the floor along with a fluffy blanket that was on the end of the bed. I picked it up and gently laid it across them, making sure that no skin was left uncovered. I walked out as the boys ran down the hallway with big smiles on their faces. They went to open the door and I stopped them.

“I think we should go back to the dorms for now. Taehyung will call us when he needs us to come and pick him up.”

I say.

“What do you mean?”

Hoseok asks.

I slowly open the door and they gasped when they saw them intertwined together sleeping peacefully.

“This has been the only sleep that Taehyung has had in a week. Let’s head home and leave them alone for a little while. I think they need some time anyways. I mean, she just woke up today.”

I say.

The boys nod and we make our way back to the dorms.

~Jeongguk~

~Jeongguk~

I couldn’t help the tears that fell down my cheeks as I sat at the bedside of my best friend, Y/N. I knew that she was taking her break up hard, but I didn’t think it would be this bad. I didn’t think she would try to take all of her sleeping pills. I wasn’t expecting the phone call to end with her goodbyes like that. I wasn’t expecting to hear her fall down the stairs and hear the crack of her head on the ground. The doctors aren’t sure the extent of the brain damage that she would have from falling down the stairs in her home under the influence of the pills. They didn’t know when she would wake up or if she would ever wake up. They didn’t know if she would have all of her memories, or not remember anything at all. You had been asleep for a month and nothing was changing. There was some brain activity but it wasn’t a for sure sign that you would wake up anytime soon. It was only small and it may even be a glitch in the machine.

“You have to wake up. Please Y/N. I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you so much and I regret that I never told you before now. You deserved to know a long time ago. I should have told you before you started dating that guy and maybe you would be awake right now and we would be together happily. Just please wake up so that I can actually tell you. Don’t leave me, not like this.”

I whisper, gently brushing hair away from her forehead.

I looked up when the nurse walked into the room.

“Still nothing yet?”

She asks.

I shake my head, as more tears fall down my cheeks. The nurse finishes her routine and walks out. A few hours later, the boys come in. They have some fresh clothes and food.

“I really wish that you would come home and get some rest. You can’t be sleeping well on the couch.”

Namjoon says, handing me a pair of chopsticks.

“I’m not leaving until she wakes up and I know she is going to be okay.”

I say.

Namjoon sighs, and runs a hand through his hair.

“Joengguk, we need to talk about that.”

He says.

“What do you mean?”

I ask, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

“The doctors say that she isn’t making any progress. They want to take her off life support. It has been a month and nothing has changed.”

He says, eyes soft with tears.

I immediately threw my food to the side.

“It’s not their choice. I’m paying them! They don’t get to just decide this!”

I yell, tears falling faster down my cheeks.

“Guk, I know that you love her, but maybe it is for the best. She won’t be in pain anymore.”

He says.

I shook my head, sobbing.

“No! I’m not giving up on her! I can’t!”

I say, falling to my knees beside her bed.

“Um... who are you?”

A croaked voice comes from beside me.

My face whipped up and I gasped. Y/N was awake and confused.

“It’s me, it’s Kookie.”

I say, trying to gently brush hair back from her face.

“I’m sorry, I don’t, I don’t know who you are. Please leave. I want my mom.”

She says.

My heart drops as the heart monitor starts to speed up. The doctors come rushing in and I’m shoved outside. I try to go back in but I’m shoved back by one of the nurses.

“She doesn’t know you right now and you are doing her more harm than good. I think it’s best if you don’t.”

He says.

A sob tears through my throat and Namjoon gently guided me to car. I couldn’t remember much after I fell asleep laying on Taehyungs lap while he pulled his fingers through my hair and quietly shushed me.

#bts imagines #btsfanfic #bts angst #kim seokjin #kim namjoon #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jeongguk #bts reaction

[sourwolf-sterek32]

Past & Future ( Daryl Dixon Mini-Series)

Summary: You had been with Daryl Dixon for most of your life. Sticking together through all the curve balls life tried throwing at you, until one day something happened that changed everything. 

Now after 18 months apart, your paths cross again in this new world and you’ll both have to face what had happened in the past in order to move forward for the future.

Parings: Daryl Dixon x Reader

Word Count: 3.1k

Warnings: language, blood, guts, just usual twd warnings 

Chapter 7-

*Three Months Later*

The next few months went by in a flash. You, Enid and Mia had finally settled into life at the prison and everyone seemed to like you guys. You continued to work on the fence and guard duty in the watch towers. Enid wanted to help out around the community like you were, so she began helping Beth out with baby sitting which she seemed to enjoy.

Your relationship with Daryl was complicated to say the least, he helped out with Mia whenever you asked without hesitation. Even looked after her a few times when you joined Glenn and Michonne on a few supply runs, despite him not liking you going outside the prison, but he couldn't tell you what to do, he didn't have that privilege.

You still had no idea what to do about the two of you, you wanted to be together again, you missed Daryl so much, God, you missed him. But every time you looked at him it all just came flooding back. The pain. The loss. The loneliness. The regret. The sadness, everything you felt that night when he walked out... You'd never say it out loud, but you were scared to be hurt like that again, you were scared of him leaving, you were scared of losing Daryl again because you knew that if you let him get close, if you let him back in and then it all happened again... you wouldn't be able to handle it. 

"Y/N? Hey, Y/N?" A voice called out from behind you somewhere, taking you away from your thoughts as you turned around to find Rick walking across the field towards you as you leant against the wooden fence of the pigpen. "I've been calling out to you for a while, everything alright?" He asked as he reached your side, leaning against the fence beside you with a concerned expression. 

"Yeah, sorry must have just zoned out for a second there. You guys still going on the supply run today to that hospital?" You asked, glancing over at the former deputy.

They had been planning this supply run for weeks. Daryl and Glenn had scouted it out from a distance a while ago and the place was crawling with walkers, but as far as they could tell the inside looked fairly intact which meant there might still be medicine and supplies inside and you guys really needed it. You were on your last lot of antibiotics and Maggie had used the last of the painkillers when she sliced her hand pretty badly on some wire. The group really needed the supplies, so Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Tyreese had been going over different plans for the past week to make sure they had the best plan of attack.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Rick replied, not looking at you as he stared at the four pigs playing around inside the pen, but you didn't say anything as you waited for him to continue talking. "Tyreese isn't feeling too great today and I know it's a dangerous run, we haven't done something like this in a long time... but you're one of the best out there, you scavenged that town near your cabin all the time, despite it being infested with walkers. I've seen you on supply runs before, Michonne has told me how good you are out there, you're fast, stealthy and can think on your feet. I wouldn't be asking this if I didn't think it was absolutely necessary, but we could really use your help. Maggie is still recovering with her hand, Sasha is looking after her brother, I don't trust that new Bob guy yet, I'm not letting Carl out there and I need Michonne to stay home and watch over the place-"

"You can stop talking, I'm in. This supply run is important for the group and I like being out there." You replied as Rick visibly relaxed and you chuckled. "You guys are gonna have to go over the plan with me though, I wasn't there when you talked about it."

"That's fine, we were gonna go over it again anyway just to make sure everyone knew what to do, but I haven't told Daryl that you are coming yet, he won't like it." Rick informed and you rolled your eyes. Of course he won't like it, doesn't like you on fence duty because 'you're too close to the walkers' but you just ignored him. He was trying to look out for you, but you hated being told what you can and can’t do, you could take care of yourself and he needed to realise that.

"Well bad luck for him because he doesn't get a say about it. Now lets go, we're losing daylight." You replied, pushing yourself away from the fence as you and Rick began walking back towards the courtyard to get ready for the supply run.

-

The conversation with Daryl went about as well as you expected, but in the end he gave up arguing, realising he was fighting a losing battle, but he still wasn't happy about it.

You made sure Enid and Carl had everything under control with Mia and Judith before you left, but they already knew what to do and didn't mind looking after the baby girls while you guys were away. They had Carol, Beth, Maggie and the others there anyway so you knew they would be fine.

You, Glenn and Rick opted to take the red pick-up truck since it had the most room for supplies, despite it being a little squishy inside the single cab with the three of you, while Daryl took his motorcycle. You wanted to join him on the back of the old Triumph just like the old days, but you knew that wasn't a good idea. You guys were still trying to figure everything out and you didn't want to get too close, not yet. So, you were stuck sitting between Rick and Glenn, in the rusty pick-up truck that didn't have a working air conditioner, but with the windows down were down with a Queen CD playing softly through the speakers, so it wasn't so bad.

The three of you went over the plan again; the hospital was surrounded by a security wire fence that was full of walkers, Glenn was gonna set off an old wind-up alarm clock on the South side of the building after you opened one of the gates to lour all the walkers roaming around. Once the walkers were cleared out two of you were gonna sweep the ground and basement level while the other two were gonna sweep the second and third level to save time.

The plan seemed to work for the most part, there were only a few walkers left inside the fence that you guys took care of easily before breaking into the three-story building, It was clear that this place fell early, most of the walkers were either in nurse uniforms, hospital gowns or military gear, which gave you hope that they might still have supplies inside.

Rick and Glenn had disappeared downstairs to check the basement first, while you and Daryl went upstairs, figuring you'll start at the second floor and work your way up. You each had a walkie talkie strapped to your belt to keep each other up to date along with your usual knives and gun holstered around your belts.

"Clear." You heard Daryl yell from down the hallway as you continued sweeping the room you were currently in. You decided to take all the rooms on the left side of the hallway while Daryl took the ones on the right.

"Clear." You called, as you began walking back out into the hallway after another room was yet again completely clean. "I got a few bottles of stuff, but I have no idea what it is. Can't pronounce the name on the label but it seems scientific so it'll probably be useful and make sense to Hershel." You stated, walking out the room to find Daryl waiting with his crossbow in his hands and chuckled at what you just said before glanced around the empty hallway sceptically.

"Don't like this. Somethin' ain't right, where are all the walkers?" Daryl muttered glancing back over at you as you shrugged your shoulders.

"Maybe there aren't any inside, maybe we just got lucky and found the only building that isn't crawling with the dead." You replied as you began walking down the hallway to the first room on the right where you and Daryl had been putting anything that seemed useful so Rick and Glenn could look over everything and decide what was worth bringing back and what wasn't.

"Nah, nothin' ain’t ever this easy." You heard Daryl say and you rolled your eyes placing the bottles down beside the bags of supplies you guys had already collected. He had a point, but maybe this was actually going to be an easy supply run for once, it was bound to happen eventually right?

"Don't be such a downer, if everything keeps going smoothly we'll back home sooner than we expected and-" You began to say, walking back out into the hallway before Daryl began speaking.

"Shhh. Ya hear that?" He questioned, his voice now softer and you barely heard him from the other end of the hallway, but you instantly stopped moving, trusting Daryl's instincts more than your own as you tried to listen to whatever he was talking about it.

"Sounds like it's comin' from the roo-" Daryl started to say, but he never got to finish when suddenly the roof above you began to crack and you could have sworn you heard Daryl shout something, but you had no idea what he said before the roof came crashing down.

-

For a few seconds you couldn't process anything other than the high pitched ringing in your eyes. You were aware that you were now lying on the ground on the other side of the hallway, but you had no idea how you got there. The last thing you remembered was Daryl shouting your name before the roof collapsed and everything turned black. Daryl. Where was he?

You quickly sat yourself up, wincing at a sharp pain in your leg, but you ignored it when your eyes landed on a familiar body lying down beside you. He was lying on his back, his long hair covering most of his face but you didn't miss the blood coming from a cut along his forehead.

"Daryl?" You called, shaking his shoulders slightly, but he didn't move and you felt yourself starting to panic as you pressed your fingers to his neck and you sighed with relief realising that he was just unconscious.

He must have pushed you out the way before the roof collapsed because you were standing directly under the section of roof that was currently caved in, the floor in front of you covered in debris. If he didn't push you out the way you would have been dead, that was plain and simple.

"Y/N? Daryl? Someone answer! What the hell was that? Guys?!" Ricks voice shouted through the walkie talkie still clipped to your belt, but before you could reply familiar groans began filling the air and your blood turned cold. Shit.

You quickly looked away from Daryl as you glanced down the hallway, but even through all the dust in the air you could spot the figures stumbling out from all the debris on the ground and falling down through the hole in the roof into the hallway.

"Daryl. I need you to wake up, right now." You whispered turning back towards him, but his eyes were still closed as he laid on the floor beside you completely out of it. "God damnit, Daryl, you have to wake up. I can't take them all on by myself." You said, glancing over your shoulder towards the walkers that were now stumbling in your direction. There had to be over 20 of them, more falling through the roof as the seconds passed.

You could hear Rick and Glenn both shouting through the walkie, but you didn't have time to reply as you pulled out your axe from your belt and forced yourself onto your feet, but nearly fell over again as pain flared through your right leg.

Glancing down you realised your jeans were ripped by the side your calf and you grimaced spotting all the blood seeping out a large gash on the side of your leg and you knew you wouldn't be able to fight against the walkers like this.

You quickly holstered your axe and pulled out your handgun, realising just how close the walkers were now as you pulled the trigger, killing the ones inches away from grabbing you before you quickly dropped back down beside Daryl shaking his shoulders, but he wouldn't wake up.

"Shit." You hissed, glancing back down the hallway towards the walkers before you grabbed Daryl's arms and began dragging him backwards, ignoring the burning pain coming from your leg as you forced yourself to keep moving.

It only took a couple of seconds but you managed to pull him into one of the rooms and quickly shut the door behind yourself as the walkers slammed against the door. Their faces squished up against the small sheet of glass in the middle of the as they tried to get to you.

Thinking on your feet you limped over to the hospital gurney in the middle of the room and pushed it against the door, satisfied that if the door didn't hold then the bed would give you guys an extra few seconds to prepare for the walkers.

"Daryl? Y/N? Can you hear me?" Rick's voice called through the walkie again as you dropped down beside Daryl, groaning at the pain in your lower leg. But you were more worried about the man in front of you as you brushed the hair away from his face, spotting a cut along his forehead which had been bleeding heavily, but didn't seem too bad now.

"Yeah." You sighed into the walkie, only just realising how out of breath you were as you held the walkie to you mouth. "Get out of the building... There's walkers, I didn't shut the door to the stairs, it won't be long before they get down to you guys."

"Shit, where are you? We heard a crash and gunshots." Rick replied, his voice laced with concern as you stared at Daryl.

"Roof collapsed, walkers came down, I had to use my gun. Daryl's unconscious, he hit his head. But I got us inside a hospital room, we're safe from the walkers." You explained with limited words as you glanced around the room trying to think of a way out of this. Your eyes landed on the bags of supplies you and Daryl had collected in the corner of the room. Holy shit, you picked the right room to lock yourself in.

"Shit. Can you guys get out?" Rick's voice asked as you opened one of the backpacks and pulled out a roll of bandages. Carefully you pulled your jeans up over the deep gash in your leg and you winced at the sight of your leg before you quickly began wrapping the bandage around it. It definitely needed stitches, but you couldn't do that right now. "Y/N?" Rick asked again as you finished wrapped the cut.

"No, walkers are covering the hallway, trying to get through the door, we can't get out." You winced standing up from the supplies of bags as you limped towards the window on the other side of the room. Shit, that was a long drop, no way would you guys be able to jump out.

"Are you hurt?" Rick asked, and you mentally cursed yourself for not taking your finger off the button quick enough when you winced earlier.

"I'm fine. You guys need to get out the building, I'll figure something out." You replied, turning back towards Daryl as you sat down beside him.

"We aren't leaving without you guys." Glenn replied.

"You don't have a choice." You snapped before lowering the walkie as you took a deep breath. "There's a window, it's a long drop, but if we had a ladder or something we might be able to get out." You informed, glancing back towards the window, knowing it was your only option, but if you tried without a ladder you were almost certain you'd fall to your death.

"There's a ladder back at the prison." Rick stated and you sighed with relief. "Will you guys be alright in there while we get it?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine." You replied, clipping the walkie back to your belt as you grabbed one of the bags and pulled out a packet of alcohol wipes and sticker stitches.

"This is gonna sting, good thing you're not awake." You commented to yourself as you began cleaning the wound on Daryl's forehead, wiping away the blood before you started applying the sticker stiches.

Once you finished checking him over for further injuries you stood back up, grabbing the pillow from the hospital gurney, double checking that the door was still secure despite the walkers banging against it.

You limped back over to Daryl, placing the pillow under his head before you sat down beside him, leaning your back against the wall. You reloaded your handgun and rested it over your lap as you stared at the walkers through the glass slat in the door.

You sat there for nearly 20 minutes, the glass in the middle of the door now completely broken as you stared the walkers rotten hands trying to reach into the room and that's when you slowly come to realise that you and Daryl were most likely going to die here.

There was no way Rick and Glenn would get back before the walkers broke through that door. There were too many of them for you to take on even if Daryl did wake up, there was too many of them.

You were never going to see Mia again... or Enid. Your daughter was going to grow up without a mother, Enid was going to lose another person she loved...

You let your thoughts wonder for a while as you thought of the two girls before you felt a few tears fall down your cheeks as you wiped them away.

You had spend the past four months trying to keep Daryl away, trying so hard to not let him back in, to not let your feelings get the better of you because you were scared that he was going to leave again. You were scared to lose him again. But, now... it looks like you had just wasted all that time because you were both going to die anyway.

-

NEXT CHAPTER

-

Link to Masterlist is in my bio. I will reblog with my tag list.

A/N- *Posts chapter than quickly hides* Another cliff hanger... my bad. But there’s only ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT!! I can’t believe this mini-series is nearly finished, this has been so much fun to write, despite making myself cry during the first few chapters when Daryl was an asshole to Y/N. 

Anyway, I hope you all are enjoying this series and I would love to hear your thoughts about it in the comments below. Until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx

#Daryl Dixon #Daryl Dixon x Reader #The Walking Dead #twd #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon fanfic #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead imagine #Norman Reedus

[superfreakerz]

TDDUP 25

"Til Death Do Us Part"

Reincarnation/Immortality AU.

Summary: There are immortals and there are those who reincarnate, but it's best to keep these things hidden. Lucy is attending college and meets Natsu, a mischievous boy with pink hair, a devilish smile, and a body that never ages.

Rated M for smut and heavy themes.

Read earlier chapters on FF.net

Chapter 25

Home

After spending the day packing her things, Lucy was all set for her trip back home. She had already let her teachers know she was going to be gone for a few days, made reservations at a motel, and booked her flights. All that was left was one thing.

Looking over her shoulder to make sure nobody was around- she already knew she was alone in her apartment, but it was just instinct to check- the girl lifted her mattress and retrieved her old locket. A nostalgic smile swept over her face as she ran her finger over the ragged edges. Opening it, she found the picture of her and her first set of parents.

Releasing a shaky breath, Lucy put the necklace on and tucked it underneath her shirt. Now wasn't the time to cry about it. She had plenty of time to do that over the next few days. Gray and Natsu were waiting outside for her, and she couldn't keep them waiting.

Making sure to lock the door behind her, Lucy found Natsu and Gray standing outside of a black car.

"I put your suitcase in the trunk," Natsu said once he saw her approaching. "Is there anything else you need on your trip?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, that's it. Thanks, Natsu. And thank you, Gray, for the ride. Whose car is this, by the way?"

The raven-haired boy shoved his hands in his pockets. "It belongs to a friend of mine."

"He sure is nice to let you borrow his car!"

Gray and Natsu shared a glance. Laxus wasn't necessarily nice, it was more like he owed them a favor.

"Anyways, we should probably get going," Gray said. "Don't wanna be late for your flight."

Lucy nodded, moving to sit in the back seat. Natsu slid in next to her, his fingers fidgeting to distract himself of his impending doom as Gray started the car. He took a motion sickness pill to lessen the effects, but they never lasted long for him and they didn't completely calm his stomach.

Lucy frowned as she watched Natsu fidget in his seat. She felt bad for putting him in this situation, but he had insisted on dropping her off.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"For now," Natsu answered, taking a deep breath. "Don't worry 'bout me. Just think about your trip! You're gonna have to see your dad. Are you ready for that?"

Lucy nodded. In truth, this trip wasn't to see her father of this lifetime. "Uhh, yeah. We probably won't even see each other since he'll be busy with work and I'll be at the grave."

"How long are you stayin' there anyways?" Gray asked, glancing at the two in the rearview mirror.

"Only two days. I didn't want to take too much time off from school since finals are coming up."

"And you get there tonight?"

"Yep! Then I'll have a full day there tomorrow and then leave the day after."

Gray let out a whistle. "You're payin' a lot of money for a short trip."

"Yeah, but it's worth it," Lucy replied, her fingers grazing over the chain around her neck. She would need to bury the locket soon.

Natsu's eyes zeroed in on the small movement coming from the girl beside him. He'd never seen that necklace before. Hell, he'd never even seen Lucy wear a necklace. Before he could question it, Gray turned on the radio, blasting a hit song from the past. Just like that, the thought was out his head as the three of them bolted the lyrics.

Reaching the airport, Gray parked at the drop off zone. The three stepped out of the car, Natsu moving to grab Lucy's luggage.

"I'll see you in a few days," Gray said, ruffling Lucy's hair.

She huffed at him, fixing her hair before replying, "Alright. Thanks again for the ride."

"Don't mention it. Yo, Natsu. I'm gonna go find a parking spot."

"'Kay," Natsu replied. "I'm walking her inside. I'll be back." Rolling the suitcase behind him, he followed Lucy into the airport while Gray drove off. A frown rested over his face. He'd always hated airports. Not only were they crowded, but the fluorescent lights hurt his eyes. Not to mention it was a place specifically made for transportation. There was nothing to like.

Lucy grabbed her ticket before leading the way to TSA. Since Natsu couldn't be in the line with her, he stayed on the outside of the barriers, walking with her to keep her company. She was going to miss him for the next few days.

"Thanks for coming to drop me off," Lucy said. "I know you get motion sickness, so I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," Natsu replied with a toothy grin. "I really wanted to see you off."

Her lips curved into a playful smirk. "You're really going to miss me, aren't you?"

"Psh. Whatever. You're the one that's gonna miss me."

"Yeah, I am," Lucy said with a shrug. There was no point in trying to hide it. "But I'll be back before you know it!"

"Good," Natsu replied, reaching over the barricade to grab her hand. "I don't know how long I can last without annoyin' you each day." His eyes traveled to the necklace around her neck. "Oh yeah. That a new necklace or something?"

Lucy's eyes widened as Natsu reached out to touch the locket. Jumping away, she grabbed the pendent and tucked it beneath her shirt.

"It's nothing," she said, knowing that he wasn't going to believe her after that.

Natsu eyed her. "What? Is it made of real gold or something and you're scared I'm gonna break it?"

"It's nothing, Natsu."

"Doesn't seem like nothing."

"It's just important to me, okay?" Lucy said. She squeezed his hand. "It was given to me by my mother. I just don't like other people touching it. I'm sorry."

Natsu studied her before shrugging. "Okay. I won't try to touch it again." Usually, he could read the girl like an open book. This time, however, he couldn't tell if she was lying to him or not.

Lucy stifled a sigh of relief. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she nearly broke out into a sweat just at the thought of Natsu finding out the secret behind the locket. Luckily, whether he believed her or not, he didn't question her about it further.

As they were just about to reach the front of the line, Lucy let go of his hand with a frown.

"This is it," she said.

Natsu shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, guess so." Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Have a safe flight, Lucy. And make sure to text me when you get there, okay?"

Lucy nodded. "Okay. Bye, Natsu. I'll see you in a few days!"

"Later, Lucy."

Lucy groaned, nearly collapsing to the floor as she stepped off of the plane. It was nearing four o'clock in the morning, and she didn't manage to get a wink of sleep on the plane ride thanks to an upset toddler who wailed the entire time. It didn't help that there weren't any layovers, so she was stuck sitting in an uncomfortable chair for almost ten hours.

"I can't believe I have to go through that again in a couple days."

Living up to her word, the girl fished her phone out of her pocket and sent Natsu a quick text to let him know she got there safely. With that out of the way, she grabbed her luggage before leaving the airport. She flagged down a cab to take her to the motel, where she immediately plopped onto the bed with a sigh. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, probably Natsu texting her back. Too tired to pick it up, she let her eyes drift closed. She could call him tomorrow. For now, she was going to get some well-deserved sleep.

The next morning, Lucy woke up with a groan. Her body ached all over, and stretching didn't help at all. Dragging herself out of bed, Lucy grabbed her phone from the nightstand, expecting to see texts from Natsu. Sure enough, he had texted her once, letting her know that he was glad she got there safely. To her surprise- and upmost chagrin- there was also a text from her father's assistant.

"What can Father possibly want now?"

Opening the text, her eyebrows shot towards her hairline as she read it.

Miss Lucy, your father requests your presence. Please see to it that you will be here within the next few days. You will be accommodated for your ticket.

Next few days? Why did her father want to see her so soon? Not to mention so suddenly. She was already planning to go there over winter break. If there was one thing she knew about her father, it was that he didn't do anything without a reason. What reason did he have this time?

Her brows furrowed. This trip was about her first parents- her real parents. Now her mood was going to be dampened as she mulled over what was to come.

With a heavy sigh, Lucy grabbed her phone to switch flights. Instead of going home tomorrow, she would fly over to her father's place for a couple days before heading back to Magnolia. She didn't care if she had to pay extra for changing her flight. After all, he did say that she would be accommodated.

Lucy checked the time. Being in different time zones, Natsu was probably still sleeping. She'd have to let him know the change of plan later. For now, she had more important matters to tend to.

Heading into the bathroom, Lucy jumped in the tub for a quick shower. The pressure of the water was much too light for her liking, but it would have to do. She cut her shower short, as she had a big day ahead of her. Getting dressed and doing some finishing touches, she was out the door.

A wide grin settled over Lucy's face as she walked through town. Even though it had changed in the last decades, the simplicity of the small town remained. The family-owned bakery that her family used to go to every Saturday was still up- though, the owners she had known before had passed, the shop being passed down in the bloodline. Her high school had gone through some renovations. It was now a little bigger to accommodate for the slightly growing population.

She had so many memories in that school. She could still remember sitting at the lunch tables with her friends, chattering over the silliest of things. She could picture her favorite teacher, Mr. Wilson, who had always helped her with her writing. She could hear her old friends' voices telling her of a party that they were going to drag her to.

It was a fun life, one that she wished she could've lived longer.

Lucy walked to the outskirts of town where the cemetery was located. Much to her relief, there was nobody around. Not that it really mattered. Everyone from her first lifetime had passed away, and there were no remnants of her first lifetime left behind. She was safe, just a stranger passing through in the eyes of everyone else.

Stopping just in front of two tombstones, a smile spread over her face. Swallowing thickly, Lucy sat on the grass, sweeping her hands over the cold marble and the engravements of her parents' names. Her eyes stung with fresh tears, which she didn't bother holding back. Her fingers flew up to her locket, wrapping around the pendent.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad," she said, her voice hushed under the pressure of her emotions. "I'm sorry it's been a while. You know how it is." Releasing a shaky breath, the girl craned her head back to stare up at the grey sky. "At least it isn't raining this time. That means I can spend more time with you guys."

Her hand tightened around the locket, its ragged, worn edges digging sharply into her palm.

"I miss you guys so much," she said, her voice cracking. "I think about you guys every day. I wish you were here with me. I want to introduce you to all of the friends I've made." Her cheeks pinked as she continued, "Especially Natsu. He's my boyfriend. It's shocking that I have one, right? With everything that happened, I really thought I was going to be alone forever. But I'm not. I'm not lonely anymore."

A warm smile stretched across her face. "You can thank Levy-chan for that! She's super sweet, you guys would love her. Smart, too. Like, insanely smart. She loves reading, just like me! That's how we met. Then she introduced me to her friends. There's her boyfriend, Gajeel. He hated me at first. But once I got to know him, I learned he's just a softy at heart.

"Then there's Erza and Jellal. They're married. Jellal's super kind and reserved while Erza is strict but caring. She can also be clueless at times, which is surprising to others. Oh, and there's Gray and Juvia. They're dating. I can totally see them getting married eventually, though. Juvia's really sweet. Protective, but sweet. And Gray's like the brother I always wanted. You know, it's weird. I've lived four lifetimes now and I still haven't gotten a brother! What is up with my luck?"

Lucy laughed, tears welling in her eyes again. "Remember how I used to always beg you guys for a brother? You would always tell me that raising me was like raising ten kids. Well, if you met Natsu, you would see that I was a very calm kid. I may not have known him when he was a kid, but I can already tell he was a wild child. He's rambunctious enough as it is.

"He used to break in through my window to hang out with me. Oh, but I promise he's not some serial killer or anything like that. He's just weird. But he calls me the weird one. I do wish you guys got the chance to meet him. He's sweet and always makes me laugh. And don't worry, he treats me right. I love him, and you guys would have too."

Releasing a shaky breath, Lucy brought her knees up to her chest. This was how her visits always went. She would tell them all about her new life, wishing to hear them reply. And just as she expected, they never did.

She used to feel alone sitting in front of their tombstones. But with the thought of her friends waiting for her back in Magnolia, she didn't feel so lonely this time.

Reaching the motel, Lucy plopped onto the bed with a sigh. Grabbing her phone, she found missed texts from Natsu. Calling him, she brought her phone up to her ear, listening to the dull rings before he finally answered.

"Yo, Lucy!" his cheerful voice rang out. "How was your flight?"

"Exhausting," she answered, rolling her eyes as she remembered the child that hadn't taken a breath between wails. "How are things over there?"

"Ehh, boring. But who cares 'bout that? How're you holdin' up?"

"I'm fine," Lucy said with a smile. And she meant it.

"Have you seen your old man yet?"

"Oh right, about that. I'm going to have to stay a little longer than I thought. Just a couple days more."

"What? Why?"

"I guess my father has something important he wants to talk about. I bet it has to do with an arranged marriage."

"What!? Do I have to fly over there!? Because I will, Lucy!"

A laugh slipped past her lips. "No, no. I've got it covered, don't worry. He's been trying to push me in that direction since high school. He can't force me to marry anyone, and I fully intend on telling him about you."

"Good."

"Well then again, the guy will probably have money."

"Luuucy!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" She cracked a yawn. "Anyways, I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to go to bed now."

"Wait, don't hang up!" Natsu replied. "Can we just leave the call going for a little longer?"

"But I'll be asleep."

"I know."

Warmth spread through the girl's body, her face flaring. "Aww, do you miss me?"

"Psh. No way," Natsu replied.

"Mhmm. Well, I'll leave the call going for a while. Goodnight, Natsu."

"Night, Lucy."

When Lucy woke up the next morning, she wasn't surprised to see that the call had been ended hours ago. Jumping out of bed, the girl quickly got ready for the long day ahead of her, packing her things before flagging down a cab to take her back to the airport.

Her feet felt like bricks as she walked through the airport. She hated flying, and she especially hated the destination she was headed to. She could already picture her father's disapproving frown over her clothes.

The only thing that made the situation better was that at least she didn't have to go to her father's place over winter break anymore.

Boarding the stuffy plane, Lucy rested her head against the firm headrest, willing herself to fall asleep. She needed to be well-rested for what was ahead.

Stepping off the plane, Lucy raised her arms above her head in a stretch. Her spine satisfyingly popped. This flight had been much better than the last. There weren't any crying kids, her chair was slightly more cushioned than the last, and the food they provided was much better. Still, she wasn't looking forward to her next flight back to Magnolia in a couple of days.

Heading to the baggage claiming area, Lucy's brows furrowed in annoyance. She shouldn't have been surprised that nobody had put in the small amount of effort to meet her inside. Her father's assistant was just as much of an ass as he was.

Grabbing her suitcase, Lucy stepped outside, the night air cold against her skin. She spotted the sleek car that was parked for her among the sea of dented, banged up cars around it.

As she approached, her father's assistant stepped out. His hair was jet-black and slicked back. His brows were slanted as he gave her a disapproving look-over.

"It is nice to see you, Miss Lucy," he said, grabbing her bag and storing it in the trunk.

Lucy rolled her eyes. He didn't even put an ounce of effort into sounding sincere. "Yeah, you too."

"Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The car ride was strenuous as she was forced to sit in silence with a man she detested. He wouldn't even turn on the radio, claiming that it would deter his attention from the road. Lucy had a feeling that the real reason was so that she would have to suffer even more. Oh well, she had to get used to dealing with assholes since she was going to be seeing her father soon enough.

Arriving at the mansion, Lucy took a deep breath to steel herself. She was sure that a battle of yelling was what awaited her. That was how her visits always turned out.

Heading inside, the girl was immediately swarmed by the staff, all of them weeping as they threw themselves against her and bombarded her with questions.

"Lucy!" Spetto wailed. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"It's nice to see all of you too," she replied with a warm smile. The staff were always kind to her growing up, acting as her family when even her father wouldn't. They snuck her some treats she wasn't allowed to eat, they got her out of boring lessons, and above all, they kept her company.

"Have you been eating well?"

"Yes, thanks to you teaching me how to cook!"

The older woman opened her mouth to reply but was cut short by Jude's assistant.

"I will take you up to your room. Your father expects to see you bright and early tomorrow morning, so do look your best. The maids have prepared your outfit for you already. You will wear that, and not these rags. You will be respectful at all times. Do I make myself clear?"

Lucy glared at him. "Crystal clear."

"Good."

After being escorted to her room- Lucy wanted to give a dry laugh that she had to be escorted- she sat on the bed. She took in her room. It was exactly the way she left it. Bare.

Grabbing her phone, she sent Natsu a quick text.

"I'm heading to bed now. I'm sorry I can't call. I don't want people listening."

His reply was almost instant. "It's okay. You talk to your dad yet?"

"Tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it at all."

"Just channel your inner-Natsu!"

That brought a smile to her face. He always knew what to say. "Thanks, Natsu. I'm heading to bed now. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Alright. Night, Luce."

"Goodnight, Natsu."

Lucy was about to place her phone on the nightstand when it buzzed again. Unlocking it, she found another text from Natsu.

"I miss you."

Her lips curled into a smile. "I miss you too."

With that, her anxiety was gone.

Lucy's stomach churned with each step she took closer to her father's office. Her ankles felt chained to iron balls, making her feet drag behind. Even though Natsu managed to calm her nerves last night, there was nothing he could do now that the moment was upon her.

Huffing as she nearly tripped over her large gown, Lucy stifled the urge to tear the damn thing off. It was so stuffy and thick, it felt like she was being suffocated.

Stopping just in front of the doors that led to his office, Lucy took a deep breath before knocking once.

"Father, it is Lucy," she said, trying to speak as formally as she could.

"You may enter," his frigid voice called out.

Taking another deep breath, she swung open the heavy doors, finding Jude sitting at his desk. Papers were piled high but stacked neatly. The bookcases were filled with large, boring textbooks. His room was cold, just as he was. While many fathers kept pictures of their families on their desks, there wasn't a single picture of her in sight.

"How are your studies coming along?" Jude asked.

Lucy bit back a frown. As always, he skipped over any form of a greeting. "My grades are great."

"Straight A's, I presume?"

"Yes, father."

"Good," he replied, stroking his bushy mustache. "As you know, I cannot have you making me look bad."

"You do that all on your own," Lucy thought bitterly. Instead of voicing her thoughts, she replied with, "Of course. May I ask why I have been called here so suddenly?"

"Yes, well, I have finished arrangements for you to marry the son of the Jullenel family." He turned his back to her, gazing out the large windows. "Marital ties with the Jullenel family will lay the foundation for Heartfilia Railways' southern expansion. This marriage will establish our future and our happiness.

"Happiness…" Lucy mumbled, her hands balling into tight fists at her sides.

Her father continued without skipping a beat. "And you must produce a boy. An heir to the Heartilia line. That is all. You may return to your room."

Lucy's brows furrowed as she glared daggers into her father's back. Was she, his own daughter, not worthy of his gaze?

"I refuse," Lucy said. Finally, he met her gaze, his dark orbs gleaming with anger.

"Lucy-"

"No. I refuse to let you choose who I marry!" she shouted. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, and not in the good way. Her body trembled with anger. "Why is it that every time you want to see me, it's because you want something from me?"

"Oh? Like you are one to talk," Jude replied sharply. "You are an ungrateful child who only contacts me for money so you can keep going to that school! I would suggest you bite your tongue!"

"I won't! I am sick and tired of you trying to control my life just so that you can make more money!"

"Lucy! Why don't you understand that everything I do is for the both of us!?"

Lucy stared at him incredulously. "For the both of us? How is any of this good for me!? If you really cared about me, you would've tried spending time with me! You would listen to my needs! You would treat me like an equal instead of some robot you can control with the push of a button!"

"You are naïve!" Jude shot back. He rounded the desk, looming over her. His face was etched with fury as he shouted, "You have no idea what it takes to make it in this country! You have never grown up poor thanks to my efforts! I fed you, put a roof over your head, and always made sure you got the best education possible!"

"Did you ever stop and wonder what I want?"

"Your wants are irrelevant to your needs! What you need is a stable future, one where you can support yourself!"

Lucy rolled her eyes with a scoff. "How is marrying some rich stranger supporting myself? I don't need someone else to take care of me! I don't need money or fancy dresses, I just need people to know me for me. I'm not Lucky Lucy Heartfilia, I'm just Lucy!"

Jude snapped his mouth shut, mulling over her heated words. In a voice softer than she was used to from the man, he replied, "Lucy, you may not think that money is important, but it is. Your mother and I grew up poor, struggling to make ends meet."

"I know the story."

"Yes, but you don't truly know the experiences."

Lucy reluctantly closed her mouth. It was true. In all of her lifetimes, she had been lucky enough to be born into financially stable families. Sure, the others weren't as wealthy as her family now, but they did just fine. She never had to grow up poor.

"Okay, you're right," Lucy said, the words leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. "I don't know what it's like. But isn't that a good thing?"

"Of course it is a good thing," Jude replied. "Which is why you need to do as I say so you never have to experience it."

Lucy's eyes widened a fraction, her mouth parting. Was this her father's way of showing affection? If so, he had a long way to go. Still, it was the most compassion she had ever sensed from the man.

"I would rather be poor than chained to a life of unhappiness," she said, staring up at her father. Fiery determination burned bright in her brown orbs. "I'm not marrying him, Papa. I won't have my happiness chosen for me. I'm going to get it myself."

"But Lucy-!"

"There's no changing my mind. For once in my life, I can truly say that I'm happy. I've made friends, I indulge in hobbies that I enjoy, and I even have a boyfriend."

Jude's eyes went wide. "A what?"

"A boyfriend," Lucy repeated without falter. "His name is Natsu. He may not be the kind of guy you picked out for me, but he makes me happy. I love him."

"Is he-"

"No, he's not rich."

Jude gave an exasperated sigh. "Do you love him enough that you are willing to throw away what you have?"

Lucy didn't need a second to think it over. With a bright smile on her face, she nodded. "Yeah, I do. I don't care if you stop paying for my school or my apartment. I don't need money for a happy life. And you don't either."

Knowing that Jude wouldn't warm up to her decision overnight- or perhaps ever- Lucy turned her back to him. Usually whenever she left his office after a chat, her shoulders were slumped and tears were streaming down her face. This time, her shoulders were squared, her eyes gleaming with resolve.

She reached for the doorknob when her father's voice called out to her.

"Lucy," he said, his voice grave. "That isn't the only reason I had you come home so suddenly."

Arching a brow, the girl turned to face him again. "What do you mean?"

His face creased as he frowned. "I am ill."

Lucy's face grew pale, her mouth dry. "Y-You're what?"

"I suffered a heart attack about a week ago."

"What!? How come I didn't hear about this?"

"Everyone agreed to keep it under wraps from the press. I didn't want anyone to know that I was sick. It is bad for business."

"Business? You had a heart attack and business is all you can think about?" Lucy gritted out. Her hands trembled at her sides.

"It is nothing too serious, the doctors said I shall be fine anyways with the proper rest," Jude replied, waving her off. He averted his gaze, the lump in his throat bobbing as he swallowed thickly. "It's just… I wanted to make things right in case things do not go well. You and I may not be close-"

"You think?" Lucy replied sarcastically.

Jude glared at her before continuing, "But I want to make amends. That is why I was pushing for those marriage arrangements. After my heart attack, I'm no longer able to work the way that I used to. If you marry into the Jullenel family, you will be taken care of even after I die."

Lucy furrowed her brows, her hands balling into tight fists as she shook her head. The lump in her throat caused it to constrict. Her eyes stung with fresh tears, but she refused to let them fall.

"Instead of trying to marry me off, we should be trying to get to know each other," she said. Every word burned in her throat, speaking made difficult thanks to her pent-up emotions.

Part of her told her not to forgive him. He always managed to make her life hell, and it wasn't like they were close anyways. But the other part of her, the part that was perhaps too forgiving to a fault, knew that it was the right thing to do. He was her father. Hell, even if he wasn't, she probably still would've done the same thing. That was just who she was.

"I won't let you decide my life," Lucy said. "But if you're willing, then I wouldn't mind trying to mend the bridge between us."

Jude's eyes softened a fraction, barely even visible.

"I understand," he replied. "I agree to your terms."

Lucy let out a quiet chuckle. Even now, he was speaking like a businessman.

Making amends with her father was going to be tough. She wasn't even sure if it was going to be possible. But if there was one thing that she had learned from experience in this lifetime, it was that people can change.

#fairy tail #nalu #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #ftfanficton #tddup #til death do us part #super writes

[ghosthunthq]

Are We Breaking Up, or Is It Just the Heat?

She served him unfiltered Earl Grey tea. Post-canon.

For: @sprghosthunter

By: @dreams-of-kalopsia

Prompt: Noll having his tea leaves read (before or after the series)

Hi, sprghosthunter! Here’s your fic~ :3 Thank you for your prompt; I didn’t know anything about tasseography before, so writing this was an educational experience for me. The title is still subject to change since I just wrote the first one that came to mind. Suggestions are very welcome. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! ^u^ 

____

The past three weeks had been rather… trying.

June had quickly switched to July, like a spark that set Japan on fire. To Noll, whose body could not ventilate itself as efficiently as an average human’s could, any venture outside his apartment or the office was hell. On particularly hot days he would hole himself up in his apartment and leave the office to Lin, who never failed to set out in time to open SPR at 10 AM. On cooler days, or when he needed to consult a reference book in the office library, as was often the case, Noll would begrudgingly take the cab to Shibuya early in the morning, his mood spoiled for the rest of the day.

It did not help that whenever he mustered the effort to go to the office, he was forced to put up with the usual bothersome rabble. Yasuhara had recently started part-timing again despite being well into law school, saying that he needed the money to get his air conditioner repaired, but Noll could tell that it was just an excuse to stay somewhere closer to his school. The others had been shamelessly and unapologetically forthright with their intentions, much to his annoyance. It also did not help that Mai was on leave until she finishes gathering data for her thesis, which meant there was no one to remind those noisy people to keep their daily contributions to the world’s noise pollution to a minimum.

Thinking of Mai only turned his spoiled mood absolutely rotten.

Despite being gone from work for three weeks, she never thought to phone and check up on her workplace. He understood that data gathering was a time-consuming, important step in writing an excellent thesis, and he would have overlooked her radio silence had the others been treated the same way. But according to what he would overhear from the chatter outside his office (and, given the noisiness, he heard a lot), Mai had been in contact with everyone else but him. That presented the possibility that she had developed some sort of aversion to him. Perhaps all the months they had spent together finally convinced her that his bad personality would never change, and she grew tired of it.

Noll knew what was happening. He had heard about this situation from Madoka before, witnessed Gene use it as an excuse to almost every girlfriend he had lost interest in. The time of onset at eight months into the relationship seemed to fit, too.

‘End of her honeymoon phase?’ Gene laughingly said through their mental link the last time he had woken up, completely unaffected by Noll’s death glare. ‘I can assure you, Noll, the real thing’s so much messier and more troublesome.’

Coming from someone who had the attention span of a goldfish when it came to relationships, Noll did not feel the least bit assured.

The hot summer days dragged on without any reprieve from his rotten mood. He soon started wondering if he could blast the whole world away.

His suspicion came to a head the day Mai returned from her leave. She acted so normal, so happy to be back.

And then she served him unfiltered Earl Grey tea.

Noll stared blankly at the cup, watching the floating tea leaves sink to the bottom. “Do you expect me to drink this, Mai?” he asked just as blankly.

“Yup,” Mai answered with an eager nod. “But before you start drinking, you have to think about what could happen in your immediate future, and keep thinking about it while you drink.”

He narrowed his eyes in distrust, but her eagerness did not waver even under his scrutiny. “What are you planning?”

“To read your tea.”

Tasseography?

“Why?”

“Because I learned it recently and wanted to try it.” She checked the cup’s temperature with the back of her hand before gently pushing it towards him. “Drink it while the temp is right. Leave a tablespoon’s worth, though.”

Noll considered glaring and shooting down her request, but he knew that that would not work on her. It never did. Nevertheless, he glared at her as he sipped the tea to express his displeasure, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of loose leaves brushing against his lips.

While he knew enough about tasseography to disqualify it as an authentic demonstration of ESP, he decided to momentarily suspend his disbelief in favor of Mai. He reflected on the question she wanted him to ask.

His immediate future… Why would it interest her? Was there some event in his future that she wanted him to be aware of?

A breakup, for example?

If this was how she had planned to break up with him, she sure was putting too much effort into it. Noll would have to appreciate the painstaking way she chose to end things. He should make it easier for her, then, as courtesy.

He swallowed against the sudden bitterness of the Earl Grey.

In a few minutes, the cup of tea dwindled into a tablespoon of tea. Using his left hand, he swirled the teacup three times counter-clockwise before inverting it on the saucer. Then he rotated the cup three times again at Mai’s signal. As he turned it upright with the handle facing south, he surreptitiously rearranged some leaves into certain shapes.

Twisted figures, to denote disturbances. A deer, denoting quarrels or disputes. A raven, disappointment in love. Scissors, separation of lovers.

Four ominous symbols. Those should help her open the topic so they could get this over with quickly.

“Let’s see…” Mai said, pulling up a chair to sit across from him. She peered into the cup and concentrated on the figures formed by the leaves.

He unconsciously held his breath.

“I see an… uh… umbrella on the rim?” She pointed at one of the figures he had distorted with his PK. “You must be experiencing difficulty and annoyance recently.”

It appeared to him more like a mushroom than an umbrella, but he held his tongue. It was not like she was wrong with her interpretation.

“I also see… a ladder. And a line going west. There’s a ship, too, and… a bird?” She squinted. “A swallow. So I guess you’ll have a successful journey westward, and it’ll have a pleasant ending.”

Noll studied the scattered tea leaves in the cup. Aside from the symbols he had formed, he could barely see anything else. His brows furrowed. Was Mai looking at the same things as him?

“At the bottom… there’s an abbey, surrounded by squares. You’ll eventually be free from worry and find comfort and peace.”

None of the symbols she just mentioned were in his teacup. Now that he thought about it, she could not have possibly found time to memorize tasseography symbols and their meanings while preparing to write her thesis, much less learn to read tea leaves. Her swift, confident reading and interpretation could only mean that she had memorized this particular set of symbols beforehand, and that she had been merely pretending this whole time.

He regarded her with a cold glare. “Mai. Stop wasting my time and get straight to your point.”

Mai had the nerve to look sheepish. “Ehehe~ You got me,” she easily surrendered as she produced a white letter envelope from her jacket. She handed it to him.

It contained a flight ticket to London via Heathrow. His flight ticket. He met her gaze with wide-eyed confusion.

“I thought you needed a vacation,” she answered his unsaid question with a smile and explained further, “So I talked to your parents, Madoka-san, and Lin-san as soon as I was free. They were happy to arrange things. I also cleared up our schedules for that time period; I’ll take care of the office while you’re away.”

“What makes you think I needed it?” he finally managed to ask.

“Well…” Mai propped an elbow on the table, resting her chin on one hand. Her other hand held up a finger for each of her reasons: “I heard from Ayako and Masako that you’ve been unbearably grumpy for weeks now. Bou-san complained that you rejected seven promising cases consecutively. John told me he’s worried about your health because you barely step out of your office. Even Yasu volunteered to take care of you in my stead, though honestly he just wanted to stay in the office because your ‘colder treatment than usual added to the air-conditioning’.” She chuckled. “I figured the heat was getting to you.”

“You sure have a lot of free time, chatting with the others in the middle of data gathering,” he commented, his tone disapproving and acerbic.

“Of course not! But they kept calling even if I don’t answer. It was really bothersome!” She crinkled her nose, then smiled again. “But at least I got updates on you and the office.”

With this piece of information, Noll’s earlier suspicion was dispelled, and for once he willingly acknowledged that his brother had been right all along.

He released a long sigh, weary but relieved. If he had gone so low as to jump to an irrational conclusion, then the heat must really be affecting his mental processes. Maybe he did need to go home for a while, at least until it cooled down in Japan.

For him to accept the time off, though, he required one condition met.

He slid the envelope back to Mai to start bargaining for it. “I don’t need it.”

Her smile fell. “What do you mean you don’t? Haven’t you been in a constant bad mood lately?”

He shrugged. “I feel fine.”

“Just take a few weeks off, Naru,” she said as she slammed her hands on the table, her frustration visibly mounting.

He raised a brow. “And leave the office to you?”

“Yes! It’s not like you haven’t done it before!”

She was right, so he disregarded her reply.

“I’d rather keep working.”

“I won’t let you work yourself to exhaustion!”

He crossed his arms and scoffed at her words. “Well, what will you do, come with me to Cambridge just to make sure I’m taking a break?”

“If I have to!”

There it is.

Noll took the envelope. “It’s settled, then.”

“Wh-What?” Mai spluttered, thrown off by his abrupt turnaround.

“You said you’ll come with me to Cambridge.”

“Eh—You were serious?! I thought you were mocking me!”

He gave her a dull look. “Am I the type of person who took vacations?”

“N-No.”

“So do you think I’ll stop working just because someone told me to?”

“I guess not…” she agreed but still looked unsure.

“You look like you need the break more than I do, anyway.”

She scowled at him. “Hey, what do you mean by that?!”

“It means I want you to come with me.”

Noll watched, amused and secretly in awe, as Mai’s angry expression froze, morphed into open-mouthed surprise, and became flushed with a radiant smile.

“Okay,” she finally said.

He couldn’t help smiling back.

For the first and last time in his life, he believed what was foretold in his tea. Mai had read him well.

____

References:

- “Tea-Cup Reading, and the Art of Fortune-Telling by Tea Leaves” (2006) by A Highland Seer, found in the Project Gutenberg website.

- “Your Essential Guide to Tasseography, the Practice of Reading Tea Leaves” (2018), an article by Aliza Kelly Faragher, found in Allure’s website.

- “Tasseography Symbols for Reading Coffee or Tea Leaves: What Do the Forms in Your Coffee or Tea Cup Mean?” (2019) by Lindsey Goodwin, found in The Spruce Eats website.

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Naru #oliver davis #Mai Taniyama #sprghosthunter #Dreams-of-kalopsia #submission

[rosy-roulette]

Baekhyun: Uncharted {Part .1}

Characters: Baekhyun x female OC (feat. EXO)

Genre/series warnings: werewolf au, vampire au, angst, fluff, eventual smut so uh this will be 18+, mentions of blood (should be implied), sexual themes and seduction, swearing, violence/mention of violence, stalking(?) kinda?

Summary: After being turned into a vampire over 100 years ago, Chu Aejung has seen how terrible humans can truly be. She’s lost enough in her life time and makes the decision to not put herself in a position to lose anymore. Secluding herself in the forest around a bustling city, she thought she succeeded. But when a particular werewolf reveals to be anything but an enemy, they both step into uncharted territory.

Previous ~ Next 

Over a century has passed and Aejung has seen her fair share of war and devastation to never what to be around humans again. Two world wars and a civil war has made Aejung see the worst in people. While she was able to use it to her advantage early on, she came to the realization that she hated that she was starting to become like them.

At some point she stumbled upon a coven of witches, who were kind to her and treated her as one of their own. It was the one time she enjoyed being in the company of others and didn’t feel alone. But it didn’t last long. Humans of course found them and killed the coven. It was the first time she felt the overwhelming feeling of grief. Aejung couldn’t save them; all the people who helped by giving her special runes and charms to be able to go outside during daytime hours and had given her a place to call home where taken from her. After that she moved from one side of the country to another, never staying in a place for too long. She had run ins with different kinds of supernatural beings; other witches, sirens, mermaids, other vampires, and werewolves. Aejung never stayed around for long, especially with her encounters with werewolves. Every encounter with werewolves always left her fighting or talking her way out of a fight. Werewolves and vampires never got along even if they weren’t so different from each other. Nonetheless she made sure to stay away from known werewolf territory. After years of moving from place to place she decided to move back to the place she felt the most comfortable in: the woods. Aejung found a old cabin in a clearing about a mile inside the thick woods that bordered a crowded city she once loved to live in but grew distaste for.

Aejung had learned to adjust to the modern world and it’s technology better than she thought. The new technology was way to keep her busy and entertained considering she wanted to keep as far away from people as much as she could. But in this day and age that was impossible. She had to find a way to make money to keep the lights on. Forging a few papers and blending into her surroundings was nothing difficult and after searching about Aejung landed herself a job at a boutique in the fashion district of the city. She was even able to convince the manager to give her the evening shifts, something she didn’t even know how she struck up the deal but her coworkers didn’t mind either. It was one more person to take over the dreaded night shifts. It was a win win situation. The job was the only reason Aejung left the woods the first few weeks after moving. She still had to buy things for her new cabin and Aejung had a bit of a shopping problem when it came to clothes sure; but the bigger and most important reason she left was she needed to feed. Aejung tried to keep to the forest life to feed on most of the time but animal blood doesn’t keep her hunger away for long. So when night fell, Aejung dawned her favorite velvet dress and went hunting. She went to noisey, crowded clubs where the flirty, probably drunk guys were. Those were the ones she went after. Aejung drank, flirted, and danced until she found the next poor unfortunate soul who happened to get a little too close. She usually ended the night with a full stomach and an unconscious boy at her feet. No, she never killed them. Aejung’s days of draining her human prey completely dry ended a long time ago. She only drank enough to last her a few days, never overindulging. It’s something prides herself on: not being a killer.

Of course, Aejung has had close calls using this method to keep herself from starving. She had tried to feed from some violent guys, almost got stabbed, been hit a few times, and even followed for multiple blocks by friends of men she has fed on because they wanted a piece of her. Aejung may have superhuman speed and strength but it doesn’t mean she is invincible. She’s always very careful and aware of her surroundings; she doesn’t let her guard down until she enters her house, closes, and locks the door. But this time, things didn’t go according to plan.

It was a Saturday night, the moon was full in the sky as Aejung stepped out her front door. Her figure hugging, velvet dress matched her over the knee high black heels, her gold jewelry catching the light of the moon. Breaking into full sprint she raced across the forest floor, jumping over fallen branches and rocks with ease. She stopped at the city’s edge and took a cab into the city. Picking a random club, she got out of her cab, and waited to be let in. In line she felt a strange feeling wash over her. Feeling like she was being watched, she quickly scanned her surroundings. No one was facing her and everything looked normal. She played it off as the dull pain from her stomach from hunger effecting her.

She planned her normal routine; get a drink or two, flirt, dance, flirt some more until a guy takes interest. Tonight was surprisingly easy. Not too long into the night, a cute guy started talking to Aejung. She successfully convinced the man to sneak into the alleyway near the building promising a steamy makeout session. Her back was pressed up against the wall of the alley, the strangers lips hungrily taking advantage of hers. He wasn’t a great kisser but she played along anyway. Pulling her lips away she moved to his neck, acting like she was going to leave a hickey or two but instead sank her fangs into the soft flesh. His moans turned into yelling briefly before passing out from the bloodloss. Years of experience taught her to not waste a single drop, making her become a very clean drinker. Aejung licked her lips before propping the poor man up against the side of the building and left to go home. 

On her way back to the edge of the city the strange feeling she felt earlier started to creep back over her. It was small but the closer she got to her stop, the stronger it got. She felt like she was being watched, but instead of feeling like it was one person, it felt like it was multiple eyes on her. Fear started to bubble in her chest as she stepped out of the cab. She walked down the road until the cab was out of sight and broke into a sprint towards the tree line. If she was getting chased by a bunch of guys in a car she could lose them when she breaks through the trees, but she couldn’t hear the sound of an engine though. Breaking through the trees she slowed down a bit, figuring that she lost them. But the feeling was still there and getting worse by the second. It suddenly dawned on her what was chasing her when she heard twigs snap behind her: werewolves. 

Cursing under her breath she took off again. The sound of twigs breaking and leaves crunching underfoot started as soon as she started moving. It was a race back to her house. Aejung knew it was a bad idea to lead them right to where she lived but she had no other choice considering they were on her tail. She could hear their breath on the back of her neck as they broke the clearing. Reaching for the door she pushed it open and slammed it in the wolves faces and locked it. She grabbed her silver dagger she kept for emergencies near the door and pointed towards the door. Aejung expected the wolves to be breaking down her door at any second but there was silence. The only thing that she could hear is her own jagged breathing as she tried to catch her breath. She took a cautious step forward to look through her peep hole in the door. The sight before her puzzled her. Nine young men stood in her clearing. Aejung didn’t realize a whole pack had chased her. From where she was standing, even as far away as she was, she could tell they were handsome. Her attention however zeroed in on the boy closest to the door. His ash brown colored hair looked silver in the moonlight and he had this innocent look to him. She felt her heart skip a beat and at that second his eyes flickered up as if to meet hers.

“I know what this looks like, but we aren’t here to hurt you.” his voice sounded like honey and Aejung mentally hit herself. ‘Why the fuck are you so drawn to him, get a hold of yourself’

“Really? Then why the fuck were you following me across town and chasing me through the woods?! Sounds really non-threatening!” Aejung spat back.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck while his packmates snickered.

“Yah! What the fuck are you fuckers laughing about?! You all chased me too!” the snickering stopped. At that moment a boy with dark brown hair stepped forward.

“I would like to formally apologize for what just happened. One of our own seemed to have gotten too excited about, something, and rushed into it.” the man gave a pointed look to the other, who whined like a child getting scolded. Aejung felt a corner of her mouth turn up. The other wolf continued.

“We would like to talk face to face, if you agree.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why should I trust you again? For all I know you could just be waiting to rip my throat out.” As soon as the words left her mouth, the ash haired boy let out another whine. “We aren’t like that! Please?! I swear I’ll protect you.” he stepped onto the porch, holding out a hand. Aejung eyed him cautiously. One side of her wanted to fling open the door and take his hand without a second thought, while the only still sensed danger. It was fucking her up. “Aren’t we supposed to hate each other? We aren’t supposed to get along.” She argued. “Do you not sense what I am?”

“A vampire? Yes we know.” The the man who spoke earlier piped in.

“Why do you think we are all back here?” one of the wolves piped in, the tallest of them. Biting her lip, Aejung moved her hand to the lock on the door, not taking her eyes away from the peep hole. “And you’re telling the truth?” she said, her voice quiet.

“Promise.” the boy said, his voice matching the same softness. Her brain was going haywire. ‘Fuck it’. With the click of the lock, she opened the front door. Aejung was face to face with the boy. A warm smile spread across his face. She tore her eyes away from the boy to look at the others. All their eyes were on her, she didn’t like that at all. Aejung subconsciously moved towards the ash haired boy next to her. The boy’s smile only got bigger before realizing what she was so nervous about. He scowled at his pack mates. “Don’t stare at her like that! You guys aren’t helping her not be hostile towards us.”

“Sorry.” The brown haired boy from before apologize. “First thing, what is your name?” He gave her a small smile. There was a pause.

“Aejung. Chu Aejung.”

“I’m Junmyeon, alpha of this pack. The boy next to you is Baekhyun.” Baekhyun gave her a small wave. ‘Baekhyun.’ Aejung played the name in her head. Junmyeon introduced all of the wolves to her. As Junmyeon spoke, she completely forgot that she was still holding her silver knife until one of the wolves noticed.

“Uhhhh you don’t plan on using that right?” the wolf named Chen said suddenly, pointing to the weapon in Aejung’s grip. She looked down as the other wolves noticed as well.

“If I have to.”

The rest of the pack went still.

“We would prefer what you don’t, can you put it away?” another wolf, Xiumin, asked. His eyes didn’t leaving the knife as he spoke.

Aejung narrowed her eyes. “Just because I know your names doesn’t mean I trust you all. I’d rather keep this with me.” The wolves looked at Junmyeon. He let out a small sigh. “She can keep it with her. We said we will make sure she is comfortable, and we are guests in this house. What she says goes.” Some of the wolves protested but Junmyeon stayed firm. The corners of Aejung’s mouth turned upwards, relishing in her small win.

“Come on in then, I don’t bite! Well no that’s a lie, I do.” She said cheerfully, spinning the knife between her fingers playfully before slipping through the front door. The pack warily followed after her, except for Baekhyun who seemed very amused by her little joke and eagerly followed after the snarky little vampire.

They all sat around the living room, some sitting on Aejung’s plush couch while others on the ground. Junmyeon stood in front the the large fireplace hear the end of the living room while Aejung leaning against the arm of her couch. She soon realized how tall all of these wolves were; the top of her head just reached most of their shoulders and she was very bitter about it.

“Ok so.” Aejung broke the silence. “What is the issue this is such a big deal that an entire pack chased me?”

“Right. Are you aware of werewolves concept of soulmates?” Junmyeon asked. Aejung nodded slowly. Over the years she has made acquaintances who happened to be werewolves mates. She had them tell her as much as they could about werewolves due to her history of pissing off werewolves and wanted to learn as much as she could to make sure she didn’t get herself killed one day.

“Do you know about imprinting then?”

Aejung nodded again. Junmyeon nodded, looking at Aejung with eyebrows raised.

“Whatever you’re trying communicate with me telepathically I’m not picking up on it buddy.”

Junmyeon signed, most of the pack doing the same. “What?! I’m sorry just someone fucking say it! I don’t have time for mind games right now!”

“Jesus Christ, one of our pack imprinted on you! You’re a werewolve’s mate.” Kyungsoo exclaimed.

Aejung blinked at the shorter man. “What. Who. Which one of you is it.” Aejung stood up, arms crossed over her chest. This wasn’t what she expected at all and wasn’t happy about this revelation at all. Fate definitely loved to fuck around with her. Her hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she stared the the group before her.

“Can you not feel it? The pull?” Chen asked, shifting in his seat on the couch. Aejung stayed silent, her eyes drifted over to Baekhyun. He stared back at her.

“Really man?” she spit out. A soft whine emanated from his side of the room.

“I didn’t mean to. I can’t help who the universe decides to put me with.” He said apologetically, running his hands through his hair.

“Then maybe you should have ignored it. I’m not even close to being ready to settle down with someone-”

“Then I’ll wait for you.” Baekhyun cut her off, taking a step forward. Her heart skipped a beat but she pushed that feeling aside.

“I’m a vampire and you’re a werewolf! We aren’t supposed to be together in the first place! How could this even work?!”

“We will make it work, Aejung!”

Baekhyun had moved gradually closer to Aejung until he was standing in front of her.

“If you aren’t ready to accept me right now, fine. I’ll wait until you are ready. I mean that.” Baekhyun said softly.

Aejung’s heart melted at his words but her brain wasn’t having it. All she could do was let out a heavy sigh. Silence filled the room, the wolves on edge waiting for an answer.

“I have an idea. Why doesn’t Baekhyun stay with Aejung for a bit? Get used to being around each other and see how Aejung feels?” Sehun broke the silence. Everyone turned their heads to stare at the youngest. Aejung looked at him in disbelief.

“You do realize that my house isn’t built for two people right? There’s only one bed.”

“I can sleep on your couch.” Baekhyun shrugged.

“Yeah, Baek can sleep anywhere.” Chanyeol snickered. “Also this couch is rather comfortable so he wouldn’t have a problem.”

“He can come tomorrow with a the things he needs. You can also still kick him out when you want to.” Kyungsoo piped in.

Aejung thought about the idea. It’s her house, her rules. She still had the upper hand here. She mulled over the thought again, her logical side arguing with the side of her that wanted her to just give in to whatever this was. She let out a sigh though her nose, leaning her head back slightly as she looked at the ceiling , wondering if the words that are about to come out of her mouth are going to be a mistake.

“Fine. You can stay here”. 

Baekhyun broke into a big smile while his packmates let out a sigh of relief.

“OKAY it’s settled then.” Junmyeon clapped his hands as he started moving towards the door with the others trailing behind him.

“I’ll send him and another member of the pack tomorrow. I’ll make sure you have my number is you need anything. Until we see eachother again.” He nodded at her as he left into the night, followed by the rest of the pack. Baekhyun trailed behind, giving Aejung a small wave as he left out the door into the night. She returned the gesture with a little wave of her own as she closed and locked it behind them. Letting out a groan she hit her forehead against the door in frustration. 

Fate was a comedian, and Aejung was it’s best joke.

#baekhyun fluff #baekhyun angst #exo fluff #exo angst #baekhyun smut #oc #kpop #kpop fanfiction #exo #werewolf!exo #werewolf!baekhyun #vampire!oc

[raendown]

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 2375 Chapter: 2/7 Summary:  An accident at work leaves Tobirama blinded while his eyes are bandaged to heal from some rather nasty burns. Too busy with his own job to play the role of caretaker, wife too pregnant to place the burden on her, Hashirama calls upon his best friend Madara to stay with them and help Tobirama out in anyway he can. Madara isn't exactly thrilled to play babysitter but he can see an opportunity when one comes along; this may be the chance he's always waited for.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Focal Point

It took a lot of patience to ignore the way Hashirama practically danced back and forth across the living room the entire time he was waiting for Madara to pack up his things. A couple of times he tried to give the idiot something to do to keep him busy and stop the pacing but each time he would get distracted half way through and text Mito to ask whether she had heard any terrible or worrisome noises coming from Tobirama’s room yet. The answer was always no and yet he refused to calm down.

Eventually Madara figured if there was anything else he needed he could always pop home and grab it even if he did have to take a cab. It wasn’t as though he were going to another planet for a couple of weeks, just halfway across the city. Hashirama leapt an alarming number of feet in to the air upon being told they could finally go and lunged for the door without even offering to help him carry his bags. Rather unusual from such a genuinely helpful person but Madara grudgingly admitted that it was sort of understandable right now. Sort of. It was still annoying and he would definitely make sure to mention it later.

After struggling down the hall to the only working elevator in his building and waddling across the underground with several bags dangling from his arms, clothes and toiletries and everything he needed to set up his work station, Madara was in no mood to chat once he finally collapsed in the car again. He spent the ride back across town with his head turned away, huffily watching the city go by while Hashirama blathered on about all the foods Tobirama wouldn’t want to eat.  As if he cared about that. The ungrateful little shit would eat whatever Madara wanted to cook for him and he had better have a ’thank you’ ready. Just because he’d been sitting on some sort of unwanted feelings for the man for much too long now didn’t mean Madara had to be nice or anything, that wasn’t his job. At no point in his life did he remember signing anything that said he had to be nice.

They got back to Hashirama’s house in fairly good time and the first thing his friend did when they walked in was abandon Madara with his bags again to hurl himself up the stairs so he could make sure Tobirama had survived the single hour he’d spent unsupervised. Madara rolled his eyes and muttered evil things to himself as he struggled up the stairs as well, heading for what they always called a guest room despite it being specifically reserved for Madara should he ever wish to stay the night. He even had a picture of Izuna hung up on one of the walls, grinning stupidly and posing with some stupid random statue they had found in an airport just before his flight boarded.

As soon as Madara stepped back out in to the hallway with his well-worn laptop between both hands he could hear a very familiar voice growling in a tone he knew all too well; Hashirama must have just done something stupid. What else was new?

“I am fine, Anija! No! No, just go away, for the love of god! Wha- because I was sleeping! I don’t need anything if I’m sleeping so fuck off!”

“You don’t have to yell, I was just concerned!”  

“No, you were being overbearing. As usual. I know I’m not one hundred percent right now but I’m hardly going to injure myself in my sleep when I’m not even moving!”

Madara snickered openly at the offended rage in the man’s voice. As much as he wanted to agree, he wouldn’t put it past anyone bearing the name ‘Senju’ to hurt themselves in their sleep. Genius status notwithstanding, Tobirama could be just as distractible as his brother and with just as disastrous results, case in point being the time he hadn’t wanted to put his book down on the walk to work and accidentally cast himself off a twenty foot bridge in to the river below. When the voices inside the bedroom quieted to a murmur Madara assumed things to be calming down and turned for the stairs, intending to scout out the living room for the perfect place to set up his work computer and all the associated paraphernalia.

“YOU WHAT!?”

The sudden yell almost made him toss his precious laptop over the railing. Madara scrambled to catch it as the door now just behind him slammed open and Tobirama’s figure filled the doorway.

He probably would have looked much more imposing if his eyes weren’t covered in thick bandaging that ran all the way around his head or if his hair hadn’t been sticking out wildly at all angles. Still an unfairly good look on him. Despite obviously knowing that he wouldn’t see anything he still swung his face from side to side like he was looking around until Hashirama very carefully inched around him and put both hands on his shoulders in a calming manner.

“Now, now! There’s no need to be so upset. He’s here to help!”

“You called Madara here to babysit me!?” The red on his cheeks would have looked quite fetching if the rest of his features weren’t twisted with clear distaste. Madara huddled his laptop a little closer with a scowl. He wasn’t that bad to have around!

“I didn’t say babysit,” Hashirama tried to placate his brother.

“Why can’t Mito help me around?”

Just opening his mouth to defend himself, Madara shut it again and wrinkled his nose. He loved a good argument as much as the next man but he was also well aware that fighting with Tobirama when the sour puss got up to high dudgeon like this usually ended up with him looking like a fool. For once in his life he could afford to be the bigger man here and just bow out to let the two brother argue. Just once though! And these idiots better appreciate his efforts because it was taking a lot of strength right now not to reach over and tug on a chunk of that soft, white, defenseless hair. The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that Tobirama probably didn’t even realize he was standing there and startling him probably wasn’t healthy right now.

“Mito is thirty-four weeks pregnant! She can’t be running up and down the stairs all the time and the stress of being responsible for you just wouldn’t be good for the baby right now, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make it sound like you’re a burden–”

“I’m blind but I don’t know how to be blind. Right now I am a burden.” Tobirama sighed and Madara remembered Hashirama saying that this had all been caused by an accident in his lab. Hopefully this situation would finally impress upon him the importance of actually following the safety protocols he was supposed to use in his job, no matter that he was ‘just close enough to a break through to fuck science up’.

“Well Madara doesn’t think you’re a burden, do you Madara?”

Hashirama offered him a friendly smile but it was the way Tobirama’s head once again began whipping from side to side that had Madara holding in a snort of laughter. “We’ll see,” he murmured.

“Shit,” Tobirama hissed under his breath, the red in his face no longer just from anger.

“Good to know my presence is appreciated,” Madara teased.

“No one in your life has ever appreciated your company as much as you appreciate your own, I’m sure.”

“Ooh snap!” Hashirama laughed until Madara's bitchy stare made him wither and giggle nervously. “What? People still say that, right? It was really popular for a while.”

Trying not to question his choice in friends for the millionth time, Madara removed himself from the conversation and headed downstairs. If Tobirama wanted to complain about him being here then he had no desire to stand there and listen to it. His time was better spent circling the living room and sitting in every available seat one by one to figure out where he’d have the least amount of screen glare while he worked. The couch felt best since it would also be closest to the coffee table where he could spread out his notebooks and set up the external hard drives he’d brought but he had to be sure. In all the years he had spent visiting this home he’d never had to properly set himself up before. It felt weird. Eventually two other pairs of footsteps followed him down at a much slower pace and Hashirama’s voice hailed him from the kitchen, encouraging him to abandon his laptop in front of the space he’d chosen.

A quaint little scene greeted him when he entered the room. Mito seemed to have gained several inches around her waist since the last time he saw her and she wasn’t carrying it very gracefully, legs braced in an uncomfortable-looking manner while her husband used his freakish height to lean around her belly for a kiss. Behind them, Tobirama had been deposited in a chair to face the wall. He probably didn’t much care where he sat since all he needed at the moment was his ears but it was still funny to see him facing the wall like he’d suddenly taken a deep interest in the terrible paint scheme.

“Good, you heard me!” Hashirama straightened and gestured for Madara to come closer. “I thought I’d give you a little tour so you don’t have to go looking for anything later! This is the stove–”

“Fascinating,” Madara interrupted him. From over in his corner Tobirama snorted.

“I’m just being thorough! So, this is where we keep the cups and things.”

Mito patted her husband on the shoulder as she waddled laboriously towards the fridge. “He knows where things are, dear. We’ve been living here for years and he comes over all the time. It’s good of you to worry, though.”

“But what about when he has to cook? He’ll need to know where all the pots and pans and things are!”

“You idiot, I make dinner for you guys all the time when you’re all working late. I do know where all your shit is!” Madara wondered if there was some kind of medical miracle that would let Hashirama give his eyesight over to his brother for a while. Clearly he was the one that needed a two week time out.

Flustered, Hashirama stood there looking around the kitchen as though he’d just realized that was true. Then he jumped when the pager on his hip went off at full volume. After checking it he looked back up with an apologetic shrug. “Any chance you’d be alright to make dinner for tonight? I was going to start cooking but apparently I’m needed at the hospital.”

“Get going,” Madara rumbled as an agreement. He looked away from the awkwardness of Mito trying to kiss her husband without spilling her juice or squishing their poor child.

“Make something tasty for them!” Hashirama called on his way to the front door. “And leave me some leftovers!”

Since no one else was speaking and no one seemed to be trying to leave the room either, Madara supposed both of his current housemates expected him to actually get down to cooking right this second. He listened to the purr of Hashirama’s car starting up again outside the window while he pulled open the cupboards to let his eyes roam over the contents. A quick check in the small chest freezer off in one corner revealed two kinds of fish, three cuts of beef, and a small glazed ham. For the two people who lived here full time. It really was a good thing they were rich if they were going to just let so much good food go bad before they could use it.

Knowing this was probably going to end in a fight, he asked, “Any requests?”

“Salmon,” Tobirama responded immediately.

“Chicken,” Mito rebutted. “And pickles. I want chicken and pickles.”

“A disgusting combination. Unfortunately we don’t have any chicken.” Madara shrugged, putting that idea to rest in his mind. Then he froze when Mito gave him a sharp look.

Enunciating each word very precisely, she repeated herself. “I want chicken and pickles.”

“I’ll order some fast food then, shall I?”

“Acceptable.” Nodding like an appeased queen, she waddled her way over to try and fit herself in to one of the kitchen chairs.

Frowning now with disappointment, Tobirama turned his eyeless stare in Madara's general direction with a plaintively hopeful, “Salmon?”

Madara leveled him with a sharp look that went entirely unnoticed, though it took him until Mito covered her mouth to hide her amusement for him to realize that. Then he huffed to cover his misstep and crossed his arms.

“I’ll order you a fish sandwich,” he said.

“That’s not the same at all,” Tobirama complained.

“Well it’s what you’re getting. If I’m ordering food for her then I don’t see the point in going to all the trouble of cooking as well.” God only knew that with his luck he wouldn’t cook enough for Mito but the smell of their dinner would give her a new craving. That was not a headache he wanted to deal with.

Leaning back against the kitchen counter, Madara pulled out his phone and opened the app for his favorite junk food place. They had a pretty decent chicken sandwich and the fish sandwich at least looked alright, though he’d never tried it himself, so he might as well get to enjoy his favorite burger at the same time. Knowing the two assholes across the room from him they would both fall on the food like animals as soon as it arrived and leave him to pay.

With that taken care of he was free to stare at the back of Tobirama’s head and wonder just what kind of madness he’d gotten himself in to by agreeing to stay here for a couple of weeks. Hashirama owed him big time for this.

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #hashirama #mito #fanfiction

[obsessedwithereri-nz]

Stone Cold Chapter 1 (FULL)

Hey guys! I decided to post the full chapters of my first ever fic on Tumblr because why not! Follow the tag #stonecoldfic to find the rest of the chapters! Enjoy!!

Levi x Eren

Summary:  Ever since Levi was a pre-teen, he knew he’d have to marry her, otherwise he’d have to answer to his abusive uncle which never turned out well for Levi’s wellbeing. But after meeting a certain singer at his favorite bar, he knew he was in deep, deep shit.

Warnings: None

SLAM

The polished wooden door slams open. A dark-haired man of short stature bolts from inside the gorgeous ‘American Dream’ home, desperation is written all over his objectively perfect face. A thick layer of pure white snow coats the driveway, almost making him slip and fall as he makes his way to his parked car now also covered with snow.

Reaching into his trousers, he pulls out his keys with shaking hands and attempts to insert the key into the driver door lock.

“For fuck’s sake. Come. On!” the man yells.

“It’s okay, Levi. Calm. Take a deep breath and calm…” The familiar voice sounds inside Levi’s head, but he gasps as if someone were whispering in his ear. He glances around him, however, realizing that, of course, he’s alone.

Levi lowers his grey-blue eyes back down to his still trembling hands. Releasing the furrow of his brow, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He looks down once more to find his hands perfectly still.

The corners of his mouth pull upwards ever so slightly, which has become an almost foreign feeling to him once again.

“I’m coming. Please wait for me.”

-----

Alcohol and good music.

That’s what Levi would answer with if someone asked him what he thought made a good time. Music can make you feel good, and alcohol can make you feel even better, plus if you drink enough of the good shit, it’ll make you forget about all the bullshit going on in your life. But in Levi’s case, he wishes it’d do more.

“Maybe if I just keep drinking, it will all disappear,” Levi says to himself as he sits in his car, parked outside an old fashioned building covered in white paint. The car is his most prized possession, a beautiful black 1966 Chevrolet Impala. He takes one last long drag of his cigarette before stepping out of his car, throwing the butt to the ground and snuffing it out with the heel of his leather dress shoes.

“Tsk… yeah right. But one can only try.”

Just like any other Monday afternoon at exactly 5:45pm, Levi exits his car, locks it, and walks up to the usual bouncer.

“Ackerman! What a surprise.” Not really. “Another rough day at the office?”

“Does today end with ‘day’, Nile?” It’s a good thing for Nile that he knows Levi decently well after all his visits here, otherwise, he’d probably be shitting his pants at the deathly look Levi never ceases to wear. His cold grey eyes, sunken into his sockets, shadowed by dark circles, and his contrasting pale white skin could make even the manliest of men look the other way.

“Ha- always the jokester, aren’t we, Levi?” Nile laughs alone. “Go on in, man. I think you’re going to enjoy yourself tonight. We got a new face for the stage! He’s a goodie.”

Levi not at all subtly rolls his eyes and enters the bar, which goes by the name The Library and is, in reality, more of a lounge that features excellent live music, delicious food and the most unique cocktails around. The booths have extremely comfortable sofas on either side of black and white marble tables. Hanging from the ceiling are human-sized bubbles filled with cushions and a place to put drinks, and a nice small stage over in the corner furthest from the entrance and right by the bar. What’s better is that the good performers take song requests. Which is why Levi is beyond grateful it’s not a jukebox, because humans can say no to the shitty songs.

It’s a place anybody who is of age can go to do almost anything- relax, drink, eat, study, drink, work, play board games, drink, listen to music… you name it. Levi absolutely only goes for the music and booze; all the other bars in town around are filled with loud, smelly drunk assholes who have no respect for the other people around them, and Levi has no tolerance for people like that. Especially after being around said people at his work, minus the drunk part.

Although he does enjoy a strong drink, or five, he doesn’t do it for the social life, or to ‘let loose’ as some say. He drinks to escape and forget his cursed reality, even if it’s only for an hour or two.

He waltzes through the building over to the bar, takes his usual cushioned stool seat, removes his sleek suit jacket and lets out a sigh when he sees the bartender flirting it up with another customer down the other side.

“Oi, shitty glasses!” Levi projects down the bar, giving them a very unimpressed look. “You gonna do your job and get me a drink or not?”

“Leeeeeviiiiii!!” the bartender screeches like banshee, seemingly forgetting they were just talking to someone not five feet from them.

Levi winces at the awful sound then proceeds to grunt in annoyance when he sees them vaulting over the bar and racing over towards him with their typical ginormous smile that even the Joker would be terrified of. And, before he knows it, he can’t breathe. Shitty Glasses may not look physically strong from the outside, but fucking hell they would break Levi’s back if they hugged him even 0.1% harder.

“Get your fucking paws off me, crazy hag!” Levi groans with all of his might, and shoves them away. They stumble back a few feet, glasses falling down the bridge of their nose, and stare at him.

“Tsk”, Levi says with the tiniest of smirks that only people closest to him would recognize as a smirk, “how you doing, Hanji?”

“You always do know how to keep me on my toes, Levi,” Hanji exclaims as they vaults back over the bar flawlessly after playfully winking toward him. “Well, I am doing much better now that your booty is in that bar seat. Now, what can I get ya?”

“Jameson on the rocks.”

“Oh, going straight for the good stuff, huh?”

“Trust me. If I have to keep going home to all of that bullshit, I need that liquid gold in my system. And a lot of it.”

After hearing the melancholy tone in Levi’s voice, Hanji gives him a sad yet comforting smile then grabs the bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey off the shelf, grabs a glass for each of them and begins to pour.

“Alright tough guy. What happened?” Hanji demands.

“Huh? What makes you think that anything ‘happened’?”

“Do you want them in alphabetical or chronological order?” Hanji giggles. “Well, for starters, you always start off with the strong stuff when you’ve had a particularly shit day. Was it the parents?”

Levi is shocked at how their first guess is spot on. Although, it wasn’t his parents either of them were thinking of or referring to.

Levi works for his girlfriend’s family in their furniture business, but it’s no ordinary furniture business. This shit is all handmade with the finest materials one can buy and majoritively custom orders from very “important” people with very “high net worths”.

Does Levi give a fuck about furniture? No. Does he give a shit about the difference between an Ottoman and a Hassock? Fuck no. Does he give a rats fucking ass about all these very important people? Absolutely fucking not! The only thing Levi does care about is getting through the day without punching somebody’s lights out or getting alcohol poisoning that night.

Sometimes he wishes he could purposely mess up these people’s orders just to make sure they don’t come back and buy from them again. But then he would have to deal with his soon to be parents-in-law getting on his ass even more than they already are. And as of this day, he has not made an overly noticeable mistake in years, yet they still find something to pick at as if they don’t have a fucking company to be running.

“Do I really need to answer that?” Levi answers as he buries himself in his glass.

“Oh, hun, I really don’t understand why you don’t just up and quit already. You’re obviously miserable there.”

“You know I can’t do that, Hanji.” He puts down his now empty glass and stares at the freshly cleaned bar top.

“Actually, I don’t know. You’re not exactly one to share details, Levi. Not that I mind, of course, like yes I’d like to know what’s making you so upset all the time but I’m not going to pry.”

Levi finally looks at Hanji again and raises his eyebrow while keeping his stoic expression plastered to his face.

“What? I know my boundaries,” they say, lifting their hands up off the bar to either side of their head.

“Not when it comes to personal space you don’t,” Levi mutters as he returns to look at his empty glass. Hanji sighs, grabs the whiskey bottle again and fills Levi’s glass with more.

“Hey now, everybody needs a hug every now and again. Anyway, you know little ol’ me is here to listen if you need, and I’m not gonna blab. Hell, I don’t know who I’d blab to!”

“Look, it-!” Levi slams his hands on the bar, startling Hanji and other bar-goers around him. Quickly realizing his sudden outburst, he looks around and sits back down in his seat and buries his face in his skinny hands. “I’m sorry, I just… I can’t, okay. That’s all you need to know.”

“Alright, I’ll back off. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed. I’ll be right back.”

He lowers his hands to reveal his furrowed brows, and all they do is wink and walk away from behind the bar and behind the curtains by the stage. Levi rolls his eyes, downs his already filled glass and begins to eye the whiskey bottle Hanji left out in arms reach, considering pouring himself another glass. Yes, this would be his third glass and probably not his last, but he does need to drive home. Sure, he could get a cab, God knows he can afford it, but there’s no way in hell he’s leaving his baby out for drunkards or teenagers to vandalize or steal. Although, this wouldn’t be the first time he’s driven home drunk before. He knows it’s wrong, he knows he could get somebody seriously hurt or worse, but all his cares and worries in the world fade away when that first drop of amber liquid makes contact with his taste buds.

As if out of nowhere, a loud screeching noise sounds from the stage, snapping Levi out of his alcohol-induced daze to see Hanji standing right beside him, blocking his view of the stage.

“What the fuck? You letting some amateur on the stage tonight or something?” Levi says with a big scowl on his face, irritated that his quiet place was disrupted by something louder and more annoying than Hanji’s voice.

“Don’t worry, you’re gonna like this one.” They send him yet another wink and walk out of his line of sight, revealing some snot-nosed kid standing on stage.

However, that not particularly nice thought vanished from existence as soon the ‘kid’ looked out into the crowd. Then all Levi could think and say was:

“Wow.”

#stonecoldfic #levi ackerman #levi heichou #captain levi #rivaille heichou #levi rivaille #corporal levi #levi #aot #snk levi #eren jaeger #eren yaeger #eren #aot eren #snk fanart #my wriring #ereri fanfic #ereri #riren #riren fanfic #eren jaeger x levi ackerman #eren x levi #levi x eren #levi ackerman fanfiction #eren jaeger fanfiction #eren yaeger fanfiction